


Turnovers, Donuts, and Creepy Dolls

by Xenafox



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Crossover, Developing Relationship, Drama, Fun, Gen, Haunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2017-12-29 18:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 53,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenafox/pseuds/Xenafox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this AU, Kotetsu has never met Legend and has never been a hero. Instead he leads a rather normal life - and then buys a bakery. Barnaby is still the young hotshot RUDE hero, and how will they get along? Kotetsu finds an odd doll too, starting bizarre dreams, along with the appearance of adorable but strange young girls stopping by his bakery.</p><p>This is much more Tiger and Bunny than Madoka, but it is still a crossover xp</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

He was picked on all day. Before school, as Kotetsu walked into his classroom, some of the kids snickered and some just gave him sad looks. Recess? It was terrible! He was pushed down several times and punched in the face once in an effort to draw out his powers.

…It worked, and he got yelled at by the panicky teachers who were under the impression he wanted to kill someone. He got punished too, and picked on for that at lunch. After school was just as bad, and he practically ran away from the building as soon as he could. He was supposed to wait for a bus, but he didn’t care. He had to leave.

He was so hurt and angry that he felt maybe he might activate his powers and actually hit someone in the face after all.

That day, Kotetsu was supposed to go to the bank. 

He was supposed to meet up with his older brother and then help him run errands. He didn’t want to do it, but it kept him busy and kept his mind at ease since he wasn’t around the other kids. It was a positive thing, but it wasn’t fun. Not that he could actually go anywhere fun instead but…

He decided not to go to the bank.

He felt like he should have been there. Something in his mind suggested he should go there, there was some…some reason, some reality where he had to be there.

But there was another feeling that hit the boy that afternoon as he made the way down the street. Maybe it was the overcast sky or the cool wind. Maybe it was the sound of sirens in the background. Maybe it was the bruises on his legs from being bullied that day. 

Kotetsu felt sad. He felt a loss of hope hitting him like it never quite had before. He only ever got picked on, so what did it matter what he did with his days? Going to a bank was the least of his issues and if his mom and brother got mad at him, he didn’t care.

Nothing mattered.

The state he was fallen in he didn’t recognize, like a sad zombie. It was strange, and pulled him down the street, down, down, down…

What was that smell? 

A tantalizing scent interrupted his bizarre dark thoughts. He had to look up and had to sniff the air. It was wonderful, what was it? He had to know! So, he followed it. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was supposed to head somewhere…somewhere darker, but gosh, he was hungry from not eating at school and he wanted to know…

A very short walk brought him to a little blue building between two real estate firms with a sign that read “Corny Bread Bakery”. A bakery? Well, he wasn’t opposed to at least going in. Like anyone, Kotetsu enjoyed delicious cakes and cookies, cherry pie and eclairs….none of those were what he was smelling, though! 

He opened the door slowly, hiding half behind it as he inched inside the warm welcoming shop. It was small, with tiled floors, golden light flooding the interior, and a case of wonderfully decorated cakes sitting right in front of him. A rack on his left held pound cake and nut breads, while one on his right held rolls - onion rolls, hamburger rolls, hoagie rolls, rolls, rolls, rolls. There were other shelves with various goodies - Kotetsu was impressed by the muffin display - but that smell was still in front of him and behind the counter. 

When he finally entered and the door shut behind him, a little bell sounded and he froze.

With seconds a tall older man emerged from behind the counter. He wore a baker’s coat and pants, with his grey hair pulled back under a white hat. He had stains on his coat, a filling of some sort maybe. He had a nametag that read ‘Daniel’.

"Hello there sonny." He had blue eyes, and they were oddly comforting. "What can I do for ya?" he asked kindly.

"I uh…I smelled something good…n-nevermind." Kotetsu was annoyed with himself! He hadn’t planned on interacting with anyone, for some reason, and now the owner of the bakery was there! …Kotetsu had no idea if he was the owner, but he looked like he should be.

"Ah, bread! You smelled the bread I just took out of the oven. I often forget how far the smell travels…"

"Oh." Bread. He was disappointed. Then he felt bad. "I mean oooh!"

Daniel laughed. “Hey, I know, bread sounds boring. But have you ever had fresh, hot, parmesan Italian bread?” he asked, eyes on Kotetsu’s face.

Kotetsu shook his head, not wanting to open his mouth and insult the man. He’d been insulted all day, but didn’t feel like spreading it. 

"You stay right there," Daniel said, and disappeared into the back again. When he emerged a minute later he had a chunk of bread, holding it carefully in a paper towel as he came around the counter and approached Kotetsu.

Kotetsu took two steps back, toward the door.

Daniel laughed. “What’re you afraid of?” He held out the bread. “Try it.”

"Do I have to pay?"

More gentle laughter. “Of course not.”

Kotetsu took it quickly, then, because his stomach had started to rumble and he was having a hard time fighting it. He had even contemplated stealing pound cake if he was there any longer. He was a good kid; he didn’t do that stuff. Still…

It didn’t matter as he carefully bit into the fresh bread - flavor exploded into his mouth! It was delicious, soft hot bread with cheese melted and cooked into the crust. He could only imagine it with butter, or garlic or maybe even more cheese…It almost burned, but he didn’t care. 

He felt less awful eating it. It reminded him of good things, of warmth and good people.

"You seem pretty hungry, not eating at school?" the man suddenly asked and Kotetsu looked up. 

"Uh…huh?" He nodded a second after speaking. "How…?"

"Bullies?"

"…." Another nod.

"I can tell," Daniel said with a wink. "I get a lot of kids in here who didn’t eat, or couldn’t eat, because they were harassed at lunch." He looked like he wanted to say something more, ask another question, but he didn’t. Instead he went back to his counter.

Kotetsu slowly chewed the bread, speaking once he finaly swallowed. “You get a lot of them? Really?”

"Sure do. Do you want more bread?"

"No, thank you…" He’d taken too much already! "Um…" What did he say next?

"I’ve got to get back, I have some pies that need to be glazed with honey. But tell you what kiddo, how about you come back here next time you get bullied? I’m sure I’ll be working on something else, and if you’re lucky maybe it will be something along the lines of brownies."

 

Kotetsu just stared - what the hell? Why was the man being so nice to him? He didn’t know he was a NEXT, that’s why…Kotetsu wondered if he should say he was. Just get it out there, get kicked out on his own terms.

But…he did want to come back. He did want brownies. 

"Um, okay," he finally responded. He lingered, unsure of what to do, and then suddenly sprung into action and hurried out the door. He’d been there too long, and had to go to the bank. None of his bad feelings were there anymore despite the sound of sirens again in the background. It was thanks to the bread probably, and he was in a better mood so he could go help with errands.

He couldn’t help but feel worried when he realized he was following the sirens to the bank. His brother was there! He also felt relieved - by going to the bakery he was sure he managed to stay out of a dangerous situation that only could have made his day worse.

——

Years later, Kotetsu stood in front of a familiar small blue building, with a sign reading ‘Poppy’s Used Books for Bad Children’ above the door. Underneath that sign was a For Sale sign with a number written on it in red marker. 

When Kotetsu closed his eyes he could smell the Parmesan bread, and some buttery croissants, and peanut butter cookies. 

What fool had possibly thought that place was better suited as a bookstore? 

Kotetsu opened his eyes, pulled his phone from his pocket, and started dialing.


	2. 2

"So they got to you again today?"

Kotetsu had a mouth full of pumpkin donut and had to struggle to get it down before he answered Daniel. “Yea. And my art teacher really got on me today. Said I better stop drawing pictures of my classmates getting lit on fire.”

Daniel’s mouth twitched into a bit of a smile. “I would have to say I agree with yout teacher…”

Kotetsu frowned. Fine then!

But Daniel continued. “But I also have to say art is art and if you want to draw someone burning to a crisp after shoving your face in the mud, do it! Just try to draw something nice once in a while, okay?”

"I’ll try."

"I still don’t get why they pick on you so much. You seem like a nice enough kid."

Kotetsu shrugged as if he had no idea, still not ready to talk about his powers. “I dunno. Must be my face or something.”

"You know that’s not true, Kotetsu."

He just shrugged again.

Daniel stepped away with a sigh. “Well, I’ve got to clean up, and set out some scraps for the cat.”

"Cat?"

"Stray cat. I think. Might be an escaped rabbit, I never get a good look at it and sometimes it looks like it has long ears…anyway, some girls chased it here one night and now it shows up occassionally so I toss it spare goodies."

"Didn’t know cats ate cookies," Kotetsu said with an amused laugh.

"I guess this one does, or maybe he brings them to someone. Who knows? All sorts of strange beings in this city, I swear."

Kotetsu laughed a little weaker, feeling for sure like he was one of those ‘strange beings’. But maybe if Daniel was okay with one strange being, he’d be okay with another…

—————-  
Kaede thought it was stupid.

Kotetsu couldn’t forget that as he wiped the countertop in his new bakery, named ‘Tiger’s Treats’. What? His late wife used to call him a tiger - in bed generally, but whatever! He thought it sounded adventurous and enticing and most of all cool. Kids would see that and come right in! Couples too, they might find it ‘fun’. At least, he hoped so!

It was set up just like it had been the first time he stepped foot in the place, though a green color scheme took over. He kept the same warm light, and used a lot of tiger decorations. His cakes were where the cakes USED to be, the nut breads where the nut breads USED to be, and it made him very happy. He did add a couple of tables with seats, so people could eat there if they pleased. He did have coffee to serve and bottled water in a cooler. Everything was perfect.

He’d show his daughter it was a good idea and she would be bragging that her dad was a baker in business!

The first three days he got mostly old ladies. They were nice, and they bought a lot of sweets for themselves and to cushion surprise visits to annoyed family members. He made good money off them and most were pleasant to talk to when he didn’t have to shout so they could hear.

But they weren’t the clients he hoped to attract.

Where were the people who needed some company and a treat to help them pull themselves back from a terrible day? Kotetsu baked because he liked to, the memory of baking for Tomoe and with her always fond in his mind. But he also wanted to be able to help with his skill and hobby. He wanted to offer someone a freshly made specialty cupcake and make them realize hey, not eveything is so bad.

He could hear Kaede clearly in his mind telling him how dumb that sounded. He knew it sounded strange, but still…

One morning he was cleaning, still finding some random objects in the back of his bakery from the previous owners. A lot of it was junk, and sometimes he got a very spooky, creeped out sensation just doing basic pick-up. He waited and waited to hear that little bell jingle. Hearing the oven would be good too, maybe.

He wanted some company. Working alone was taxxing on his mental state when there were no customers for a bit. It made him feel lonely.

The bell sounded and Kotetsu nearly fell down running from the back area to the counter.

He anticipated another old woman, but in walked a young man, a very good looking young man with blonde hair that curled on the ends, a face that said he had no idea what fun was, and glasses. He was tall and wore a red and white jacket and jeans.

Behind him trailed an older man in a suit, with a HUGE MOLE HOLY-he also had on glasses. He looked very familiar…

"Hi there!" Kotetsu greeted him and both men flashed him smiles.

The one coming from the blonde was almost scary, how fake it was, but the one from the older man was more genuine. He was the one to step forward and speak as the blonde took a seat, looking impatient and annoyed.

"Good morning!" the man greeted him. "I didn’t realize there was a bakery here."

"It’s new! Sorta. Used to be one here years ago before it changed to erm, something else." He didn’t know if it hd been something else before the bookstore. He was curious though.

"Well it’s great to have this on the way to work every morning, wouldn’t you say, Barnaby?" he asked the younger man.

"I suppose so," Barnaby answered though he was totally disinterested.

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow and the older man continued. “The Apollon building isn’t far from here, and Barnaby here is the new hero in town. That’s his sponsor!” He looked so proud - and it was obvious to see the man wanted people to know about Barnaby’s success, his status…didn’t heroes usually have code names?

"That’s wonderful!" Kotetsu replied, still smiling. He didn’t follow HeroTV much since Tomoe had died. She loved it, and he always felt a sense of loss when he watched it. Once she was gone, that sense of loss was even greater and he just couldn’t do it.

The man nodded. “It is. We’ve been waiting for this a long time. We should really order, though…” He proceeded to order two coffees, one decaf, and one loaded with cream. He also ordered two sesame bagels with honey cream cheese, which Kotetsu toasted and served to them on one of his many green tiger plates.

When the two were seated and eating, Kotetsu came around the counter. “So, you two going to be regulars, if this is on the way?”

Barnaby didn’t answer, but his old man friend or uncle or whatever did. “I won’t be, but Barnaby should be. I’d like him to eat and drink a little something before work each day.” Barnaby looked uncomfortable.

"Nice!" Kotetsu offered his hand to the middle of the table because he didn’t know which one to direct it at. "I’m Kotetsu!"

The older man, of course, shook his hand. “I’m Albert Maverick, and this is Barnaby Brooks Jr. We-“

"Have you heard my name before?" Barnaby suddenly asked in a smooth, quiet voice.

Kotetsu paused in his handshake with Maverick. “Er, no, can’t say I have, sorry…”

Barnaby visibly wilted and Maverick sighed. “Oh Barnaby. Come now, be friendly and don’t keep asking people that. You’ve got to get to know the regulars who will become part of your daily life. Interrogating everyone you see isn’t the way to do that.” It sounded like he was trying to make Barnaby follow a certain routine. Odd, but some people had problems where they needed that sort of thing, and it made Kotetsu feel affectionate towards the young man. He hoped it wasn’t the case, though.

"I don’t mind him asking me! I just wish I had the answer he wants, you know?"

Barnaby just frowned. “It’s alright.”

Maverick frowned at Barnaby. “Come on, you haven’t even touched your bagel. Eat up, Barnaby.”

Barnaby looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. He lifted the bagel and took a small bite from it. Kotetsu didn’t miss the way Maverick gave him an approving smile, and that was a bit unnerving - but the oven went off and the phone decided to ring at the same time. He had to let them be and tend to his business.

Unfortunately when he found time again and was able to check back on his customers, he found the seats empty and a decent amount of money deposited in the tip jar next to his register.

He hoped he would see the blonde again.

———-

The back was almost completely cleaned up. Kotetsu threw away a lot and sold a lot, but some things he wasn’t sure about. He really liked the books about animals that he found leftover from the bookstore, and there was a set of wine glasses he would certainly not get rid of.

The last thing he found, sitting in the back of a closest, almost as if someone had made an effort to hide it, was a doll.

It had a strange white face with yellow cheeks. It looked kind of sad…the hair, or bow, whatever it was, was pink. The body was pink too, though it was dwarfed by the tan vest it wore and a red and black cape. A large poofy collar around the neck was black with red dots.

The doll was odd, and almost unsettling, but cute! Kotetsu liked it, and when he picked her up the slightly spooky feeling he felt started to fade a little. He actually felt…worried, almost. He didn’t know why. He held the doll and thought about Kaede, and then Tomoe, and then hospitals, which made him feel sad.

He reasoned it was because the doll made him think of his daughter and things naturally went down that bad path. He didn’t often think about his time at the hospital, working there or dealing with Tomoe’s stay. It was just time for those thoughts to hit him again. Hopefully they wouldn’t come back again for a while.

He was trying to chase the thoughts away while holding the doll to him when the bell over the door sounded.

Kotetsu set her down on an empty table he’d found and decided to keep as well. Slowly he went to greet his company, almost not wanting to be distracted from the doll.

But then he saw familiar blonde hair and recognized Barnaby. Company was suddenly even more welcome than ever. Kotetsu had seen him the last morning, and not the two before that. Barnaby didn’t talk yesterday either, but the third time’s the charm, right? 

 

"You like coffee with lots of cream, right?" Kotetsu asked as Barnaby stepped to the register at the same time he did.

"I…" Barnaby looked a little surprised, and unhappy about it. "…Yes."

"I got it right!" Kotetsu said cheerfully and grabbed a cup to fill for Barnaby. "So ah…how’s Heroing?"

"Don’t you turn on the TV, old man?"

Kotetsu paused, frowned, but kept going. That was rude. “Ah, sometimes, but I get home late sometimes and I’m too exhausted to watch anything after the news.” With the exception of those reality dancing shows, anyway, those were great!

"And in the morning before you come to work?"

"I’m usually running late," Kotetsu said with a laugh, trying to lighten the guy up.

"I see." He sounded like he expected it. "Is my coffee ready yet?"

Kotetsu was adding the cream and frowning again. “Just about. Just adding in the cream and then you’ll be all set. You drinking it here today, or going to sip it on your way to work like yesterday?”

"I will be taking it, so my uncle can see I have been stopping like I said I would."

"Huh." Kotetsu handed him his coffee and rang him up. "I though you were supposed to-"

"Can’t I just open a tab?"

"…Eh?"

"A tab. So we don’t have to waste time with you ringing me up for the same thing every single day. It would be quicker just to have a bill sent to my uncle at the end of the week and he will pay you. He will even tip you."

"Ah…" What? Did most bakeries do that? Now, bars did tabs, and crap, he had a few to pay off…but anyway! "So that man was your uncle?"

"Yes, and the CEO of HeroTV."

"The CEO?" WHAT! A man of such importance - in HIS bakery? Sending HIS nephew in every day (sort of) for coffee! It made Kotetsu feel cool! He couldn’t suppress a grin. "Wow I-"

Barnaby cut him off. “So how about it? Would you agree to that?”

"Um, I’d like him to call or come in just to set that kind of thing up, but I guess it wouldn’t be an issue…"

Barnaby produced a card from…somewhere. His back pocket it looked like. He slapped it down on the counter and then scooted it forward. It had Maverick’s name on it with the HeroTV symbol. Contact information was listed. “Please call him. He won’t mind at all once you say you are from the bakery.

"Oh, okay." Kotetsu picked it up. "Will do."

"And please, when you give him the total, charge a bagel each time with the coffee."

"But why?"

"He is expecting me to eat a breakfast daily and I don’t have time, nor do I always feel good eating in the morning. He will be unhappy if he finds this out, so just charge it."

"I um, wouldn’t feel right…"

"Just do it," Barnaby finally demanded, irritated as he picked up his coffee. He stepped away, glaring. He started to say more, but closed his eyes, sighed, and left.

What a brat! Kotetsu glared at the door once it was shut. There was no way he was lying on that kid’s behalf and charging unfairly. Barnaby wanted his way? Well, Kotetsu was a good business owner and an honest person (when it was important), and he wasn’t going to listen to Barnaby’s demands.


	3. 3

"Do you want to help me with these collar cakes? My morning guy couldn’t come in."

"Huh? I….really?" Kotetsu stared at Daniel with his mouth hanging open, displaying gross partially-chewed cranberry scone. He closed up right away when he realized how disgusting that was.

Daniel was behind the counter. “Sure! It’s easy - cut this eight inch layer in half, two number six scoops of this filling….it’s like assembling something.”

Kotetsu hadn’t been opposed before. Daniel’s words were all he needed to actually beckon him behind the counter in excitement. “Okay!” It sounded fun!

Daniel handed him the scoop, along with the clear long collars, tape, icing, and the other things he needed. And it really was easy - he sliced the layers in half, put one half down, surrounded it with the collar, dropped in a load of the white filling, and put on the other half of the layer. He smoothed on chocolate icing and a cherry and BAM! Done!

He felt like he could just keep going all evening! But, only so many needed to be done.

He did six of them and at a fast pace. Daniel shot him an approving look when done. “Did you have a good time?”

"I…yes. I did." Kotetsu regarded the cakes proudly. He’d baked at home with his mom, but that was all different. And no one was going to buy the cakes he made at home. He had to do well at the bakery, because otherwise no one would want to buy stuff.

Daniel studied the cakes, and then went back to an icing bag he’d been filling. “I think, it wouldn’t be so bad once in a while if you helped out, if you’d like to.”

"Really!?" He could hardly believe his ears!

"Really really!" Daniel replied cheerfully.

———————————————————————————————-

"Sure, I can write on that cake! …’Happy Birthday Buttface’? In pink? Alright…." Kotetsu picked up the sheet cake the teenage customer had picked, amused by how she had been giggling the entire time. He smiled despite himself, but as he started writing ‘Buttface’, he couldn’t help feeling a little hollow.

He’d not talked to many customers even if plenty came in. There was a lot of small talk which was nice, but he got tired of talking about the weather or laughing every single time someone commented on how working there would make them gain weight with a smile.

He got it. Bakery, sweets, getting fat, har har har. Why did customers think those comments were something new? He heard all the bakery jokes one could hear before he even opened.

He served the cake to his customer who paid and bounced off happily. Well, at least he could make someone smile. She’d enjoyed his writing. Kotetsu wasn’t incredibly artisitic but he had learned how to decorate cakes.

If only one of the five tiger themed cakes he put out the day before would sell!

Kotetsu was putting some turnovers in the oven when the bell went off over his door. He turned and was surprised to see Barnaby. The blonde had been there the past four mornings, but he’d shown up, grabbed his coffee, and was gone immediately each time. He didn’t even say hi.

So him being in wasn’t exactly unusual, but he looked a little troubled and it was the middle of the day. “Barnaby?” he asked over his shoulder, before glancing back at the oven to enter the time.

"What, old man?"

Kotetsu really hated being called that. “I’m just surprised you’re here. That’s all.” He also couldn’t help feel a little worried - there was something in Barnaby’s voice that sounded different, even in those three words. Something was wrong.

"Ah." Barnaby stood at the counter, waiting.

"How are you?"

"My coffee, please."

"Um…long day?"

"No. Just give me my coffee since I missed this morning."

"Uh sure, but I have to make a pot." He frowned as Barnaby sighed. "Are you okay?"

"…What?"

"Something seems wrong," Kotetsu said, retrieving his container of coffee.

"Even if something was wrong, why would I tell you?"

What the fuck was his problem? Kotetsu wished the coffee would hurry up. “Look, I’m just asking.”

"Don’t." The word was so cold and full of - of hate, amazingly. Why? Kotetsu never did anything to him, and he was bothered. He didn’t understand the hostility being directed at him, and it was making him unhappy. VERY unhappy.

"So I should just shut up every time you come in, huh?" he asked after a delay, during which he’d been staring at the coffee pot and trying hard not to give a shit about what Barnaby was doing.

"Well that’s not-"

"I’m sorry,” Kotetsu growled, pouring his coffee and tossing in the cream quickly, being messy even. He held back from slamming the cup down on the counter but did practically throw a napkin at a surprised Barnaby. “I will refrain from treating you like a human being if it bothers you so,” he said, smiling but not kindly.

"Ah…" Barnaby stared, obviously not knowing what to do. And then he glared. "I am your customer and you-"

"Ah yes, you are, and as such if you don’t like the service you do not need to be coming back. I’ll be sure to call Maverick and tell him to close the tab that was open for a short, short while." Kotetsu’s blood boiled. He wasn’t sure why he was so unbelievably mad, but he was unable to hold back. Why the hell had he given Barnaby special treatment and opened a tab anyway? If no one else got one, Barnaby shouldn’t.

Barnaby was stunned, visibly. He still looked mad, but less so. He actually looked slightly guilty, but he turned away before it could really show. He didn’t say anything, he just stormed out and away, leaving at the same fast pace he had left every morning.

Kotetsu could feel the throbbing in his skull. He instantly regretted his actions, having chased away the one repeat cusstomer so far. He knew he shouldn’t feel bad, the guy had a bad attitude and he didn’t need that stress on top of other things - starting a business, even if it started well, was a tough thing. Kaede still didn’t like it, for reasons he just didn’t understand.

He sighed and stared at the timer for the turnovers. A chunk of time was left, so he wandered out back to calm down. He had swept and mopped the floor back there and added some nice lights, so it was a welcoming break room of sorts with the table he’d found and a chair he bought, with a small stand containing books nearby. On a freshly dusted shelf sat that doll.

For whatever reason he was compelled to reach for her, take her down, and sit down with her. The day before he had decided her name was Charlotte. It was as if it had been whispered in his ear; rarely did a perfect name hit him so well. He looked at her and couldn’t remember why he hadn’t called her Charlotte as soon as he had found her.

Sitting with her had a calming effect on him, and he never would admit it. He thought about bringing her home several times since finding her, but that was…that was wrong. He felt a sense of unhappiness at the idea of ripping her from her bakery. He still sometimes felt a general sense of sadness with her, but more than anything he felt calm.

It was likely he would never know where she came from. He intended to look up more history of the building, but a doll…he figured she had to have been a toy bought for the bookstore, since it was aimed at children.

After sitting with Charlotte for a few minutes, he went for his phone. It would be best to close that tab while he was thinking of it, because as much as he hoped Barnaby would come back, a tingle of despair took control of his mind thinking about it and he knew he better wrap things up with that guy sooner rather than later. 

The longer he hoped for his return, the more it would suck, and there were more pleasant customers out there. It just might take them a while to come by.


	4. 4

Two days went by without Barnaby appearing. Kotetsu had called Maverick, and had asked about closing that tab. Maverick urged him to keep it open just a little bit longer and said he would talk to Barnaby about his behavior.

Kotetsu wasn’t expecting much, and he just did as he usually did, going to the back to rearrange Charlotte when he felt overwhelmed. He’d brought in some ‘fun’ objects for her - smaller version of his hat, a little blanket, stuffed animal friends…it was disturbingly fun and he could never let his daughter find out he was playing with toys. Hey, he’d never done so as a kid, and he was an adult! He was entitled to things he’d missed out on in the past - right?

Sure, that’s what he’d keep telling himself. The reality of it was he was having fun and wanted to keep having fun and doubted he’d get caught by Kaede because she didn’t think enough of his bakery to even come inside.

He tried to focus on what he was doing, tuning out the rain coming down that morning, One gloved hand was covered in white icing so he could slather it all over the cinnamon buns he was about to package. He tried to keep his other hand clean so he could actually close the packaging each time he finished.

Since he was a little zoned out that took a lot of concentration.

The bell sounded. “I’ll be there in a minute!” Kotetsu shouted without looking. He wanted to finish so he wouldn’t have to stop in the middle of things, throw out the glove he was using, and then watste another one in starting again.  
"I thought I made it clear that I like to quickly get my stuff and go."

Kotetsu couldn’t help stopping, straightening up, and half-turning to see across the counter where Barnaby stood. “Thought you wouldn’t be back,” he said dryly, masking that he was happy to see him again. He didn’t know why he was since Barnaby had been rude. As much as he hated to admit it, he’d gotten attached to the asshole for some bizarre reason.

"My uncle spoke to me, and explained he was not happy with my behavior." He looked uncomfortable, like he was being nicer than he wanted to be and it was a very real struggle. The fact that it was so hard for Barnaby to be civil was worrying to Kotetsu. What had the kid been through that made him act that way?

He didn’t seem like he was a naturally mean person even if everything about him came off as cold and distant.  
"I see. And he made you come back here?"

"Not exactly."

Kotetsu waited to see what Barnaby meant by that, but the blonde didn’t explain. “Whatever. I still need a minute to finish up.” Kotetsu turned, looked at his bowl of icing, and immediately dipped the clean hand by accident. It was like it happened in slow motion; he noticed his hand going the wrong way, felt the icing on his skin, all while his eyes went wide and he immediately felt agitated.

He stood there and sighed, looking at his iced hands and the containers he couldn’t touch without making a mess.

"What are you doing?” came the entitled voice of his customer.

"Trying to ice cinnabuns. And I…I messed up. Whatever, I guess I’ll come back to them," he said, feeling disappointed and frustrated. His day wasn’t going well. He was starting to take off his glove when Barnaby spoke again.

"Hang on. I’ll come around and help if it’ll make this go faster."

"Ah…" What? Kotetsu was too shocked to say no right away. He looked again to see Barnaby coming around the counter, waltzing into his prep area as if he actually owned it. "Ah, wait, you don’t have an apron!"

Barnaby rolled his eyes. “As if I would be caught dead in one of those ghastly green things,” he said, and Kotetsu had the sense he was trying to be funny. “Those green buttons…that green neck tie…so much green…” Barnaby shook his head and started to seem a lot less funny right away.

"Yea. Uh, look, you really shouldn’t be back here," Kotetsu pressed as Barnaby stood beside him. Kotetsu was tall but Barnaby still seemed to tower over him, standing so close. Kotetsu swallowed a little anxiously.

Barnaby ignored him. “What are you doing, trying to close these but you covered your hands in frosting so now you can’t do anything?”

Did he have to make it sound so damn embarrassing? “Um, yes. See, I put the rolls in their package first, and then cover them with icing so I don’t have to handle them more than needed. Then I close them and see- they snap closed so I have to press.”  
Barnaby blinked. “I can see. It’s not hard to understand, Kotetsu.”

"…You remember my name?"

"Amazingly enough, compared to all the important things I try to remember, yes, for some reason I can recall your name."

"Why are you so insulting? And start snapping things shut if you’re going to come back here and give me attitude." Kotetsu returned the gloved hand to the icing and smeared it on some plain buns.

Barnaby started snapping the containers closed, as soon as Kotetsu finished each package. There were only a handful, but it was still a great help, and Barnaby even picked up the price gun to label them while Kotetsu cleaned off his hands. He asked how many days and the price, and THEN loaded up his arms.

That made Kotetsu step towards him to stop him. “Hey! Hey, look you helped and I appreciate it but-“

"Is there an issue with me putting these out?"

"Well..I guess…I guess not really but you don’t work here, so…"

Barnaby snorted. “You aren’t above accepting some help.”

"…What does that mean!?" Kotetsu asked, irritated as he started the pot of coffee for Barnaby.

Again, Barnaby didn’t answer. He had no trouble finding the usual spot the buns were set in and arranged them neatly - he even organized around them, letting out little sighs and sounds of annoyance because it wasn’t completely tidy. Kotetsu just watched the spectacle, with no idea of how to react. Was that the same Barnaby who treated him like dirt not long before that morning? He made no sense! 

But still, Kotetsu was happy he was there…

"Is my coffee ready?" Barnaby asked quietly, standing in front of the cash register once again and looking like he always did.  
"Just about. Uh, thanks, by the way," Kotetsu told him with a smile.

"Uh-huh. I don’t mind helping if it gets me my coffee faster."

Kotetsu made a face and tugged at his white cap, unsure of how to react. “Yanno, if you are ever interested, I’m okay with you coming in to help a little in the morning.”

"Why would I do that? I just wanted my coffee." Barnaby made it sound like Kotetsu had made the stupidest suggestion in the world. He tapped his fingers on the desk, acting bored but he looked - he looked kind of satisfied with himself.

Kotetsu just shrugged. “Well if you ever change your mind, tell me. Here’s your coffee. It’s free since you helped me out.”  
"I would prefer that you charge-"

"It. Is. Free. Geez, just take it in return for lending me a hand, is that so hard!?" Kotetsu cried, pushing the coffee into Barnaby’s hand. "Er, it’s starting to rain a little more out there…" It looked darker and colder than it had half an hour prior. "You really ought to stay and drink it here."

"I will be fine. Do you think I am a weakling, old man?" Barnaby asked, sipping at his coffee and backing off. "I am a hero, and will have no trouble doing my job or getting to my job. I don’t zone out and make silly mistakes.”

"…Right."

"…Thank you for the free coffee. Also, I would suggest moving that doll in the window, it’s a little creepy. It may be the season for Halloween decorations, but stick to pumpkins and black cats," Barnaby suggested haughtily before he exited the store.

Kotetsu tilted his head and came around the counter. In the window, next to a apple cider donut display, was Charlotte. She was sitting peacefully and looking out at the street. Kotetsu scratched his beard. Had he placed her there? He didn’t remember it, but the gloomy weather was making him all sorts of absent-minded.

He picked her up to move her, wondering how Barnaby could find her creepy at all. That guy!

He also couldn’t help feeling optimistic over the interaction he’d had with Barnaby that morning - he hoped there would be more. It seemed to kind of calm Barnaby, just helping him package, and that was exactly the kind of thing Kotetsu had been hoping would happen.


	5. 5

Kotetsu tossed and turned. His head was full of imagery, of scenes he didn’t like. He dreamed for a time of Daniel, of learning how much streussel to cover the fruit pies in and the breaktimes during which they would stand around with strawberry cream cheese covered croissants. He could almost smell Daniel’s bakery and in his mind he saw his smile.

It shattered rather suddenly, as he thought of when Daniel had to go, and his life played out. He maried Tomoe, he made a living at a hospital so he could help people. Day in and day out that place broke his heart, thinking of kids crying over their ill parents and parents crying over their ill kids. He saw one girl, in his dream - he didn’t think it was a memory - crying with her sick mother and talking about a big cake they wanted to bake someday.

Kotetsu wanted to offer his help to make that big cake. But he couldn’t, because her mother died, and then Tomoe died, and life felt darker.

"Dad, Dad! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Kotetsu felt small hands shaking him. It jarred him awake really, but he didn’t snap. His eyes flew open and he clutched at the blankets tightly after such a terrible dream. His eyes felt strange.

"Dad, you were crying - are you okay?"

"I…I was crying?" He rolled over in his bed to see Kaede’s worried face hovering above him. She still had a hand on his shoulder, even though he was awake and no longer on his side.

"Yes. Loudly." She withdrew then and assumed the more familiar position of standing with her hands on her hips. "You woke me up."  
"I’m sorry baby, what time is it?" he asked her with a long sigh. He felt embarrassed, and gross - his nose was a little runny as a wonderful addition to those wet eyes.

"It’s five in the morning! I still have an hour until I need to actually get ready for school…no point in going back to sleep, now."

"Ooooh." He groaned. "Well, it’s about time for me to get up…" He started kind of late in the morning for a baker, but it didn’t matter that much. "I’m sorry," he said again.

"You always apologize a lot, but that doesn’t do anything. I’m going to go watch TV, I guess," Kaede said, sounding defeated.

"Want to get ready early and come with me to the bakery?" he asked, pushing the brown comforter down his legs and swinging his legs off of his too-big bed. It really needed another person. "I’ll let you eat frosting!"

She made a face. “No thanks, dad. I’d rather just stay home for now…it’s cold out, anyway.”

"Ah, yea…" Their heaters were running strong so it felt comfortable, but Kotetsu knew the cold fall air would smack him hard in the face once he stepped one foot out the door. "Okay. I understand. But…but frosting…." He could still try a little more.

"Too much frosting is bad for you,” Kaede informed him.

"Are you ever gonna come to Daddy’s bakery?"

"Maybe," she said, and then left his bedroom.

He expected that. Kaede had been against him quitting his hospital job to open a bakery, and his mom that it was a terrible move. He didn’t have much of a support system. 

Kotetsu had never spoken to his old co-workers very much. There was no big reason for it. He was a social being, as evidenced by why he wanted to open his bakery.

Then again, none of his coworkers had ever needed a kind hand, or saving, or anything like that, as far as he was aware. He didn’t know how else to try to get close to them.

He craved different people and a different environment altogether.

He wanted to help people, but he didn’t want to get close to just anyone. It had affected him his whole life.

Even as he got to the bakery and turned the stoves up while proofing the bread, he found it hard to think about a lot of things. He had his down days and he was certainly having one of those after the nightmares. It was difficult to accept that his family looked down on his job and he had no one to turn to because he opened himself up to no one as well.

He was setting out muffins when Barnaby walked in, a little earlier than usual. Kotetsu barely lifted his eyes to him - even those felt heavy and weighed down. “Hello,” he greeted him, without much life to the word.

Barnaby stopped just inside the door, and just looked at him.

That was odd. Kotetsu kept setting up his muffins - carrot, chocolate, blueberry, cranberry…the blonde was still looking at him. So, Kotetsu straightened up and looked back at him. “Something wrong, Barnaby?” he asked him tiredly.

"Something seems off in here…you seem strange." Barnaby continued to study him. "Has something happened?"

"Like you care," Kotetsu snorted and wiped his hand nervously on his apron. 

Barnaby frowned. “It doesn’t matter if I care or not, I’d still like you to answer.”

"…It kind of DOES matter! I don’t tell people just anything, you know. It’s gotta be someone who…" Someone who gave a shit, which he didn’t have. "Nevermind." He mentally scolded himself immediately. How negative could he be? It was unacceptable.

"Neither do I."

His eyes burned into Kotetsu even as the older man tried to look away, even walking back behind the counter. He was a persistant one, and why did he persist if he didn’t care? Kotetsu knew how someone could pry out information from another person just to hurt them with it, but…what could Barnaby gain from that?

"Nightmares, alright?" He was probably safe enough with that short answer.

"You suffer from nightmares?"

"Not often." Kotetsu started to package some sourdough. "But I had a lot of bad ones last night."

"What about?"

Deep breaths, don’t get frustrated. Kotetsu couldn’t understand why he kept asking. “Hospitals. I’m not saying anymore,” he said, firmly. He knew it was a lie, because again, that weird comfort with Barnaby had come crawling back and he wanted to talk to him all day.

Barnaby didn’t ask more. Instead, he said something Kotetsu hadn’t expected. “…I get awful nightmares all the time.”

"You…do?"

"Yes."

"About what?"

Barnaby narrowed his eyed and hesitated, but he did finally answer. “Fire.”

"Fire?" Kotetsu knew there had to be a reason, but Barnaby had begun to look uncomfortable, so he dedided not to press his good luck - good luck that Barnaby had opened up to him even if only in a very, very tiny way. "I’m sorry to hear that. How do you usually get yourself to feel better?" he asked.

Barnaby just shook his head, and Kotetsu understood that he didn’t. That was sad… Barnaby sat at the table slowly. Another surprise, it seemed, as he made himself comfortable. “Would you be willing to bring me a carrot muffin?”

"Oh…sure." Kotetsu blinked, not sure what to make of it. "And your usual?"

"Mmm…and could you move that creepy doll?" Barnaby asked, nodding toward the top of Kotetsu’s cupcake case. Charlotte sat up there, and again, Kotetsu didn’t remember putting her there.

He didn’t mind her there, but he obliged and moved her. He picked her up gently and set her lower, next to his bread slicer. She was still close but not where Barnaby would be able to see her. Next Kotetsu busied himself with the coffee and topping the carrot muffin with rich cream cheese icing. He chose a double chocolate muffin for himself along with super strong coffee.

Then he joined Barnaby at the table. “Ah, I hope you don’t mind,” he said, after setting everything down and pulling out the chair. “I think I do need to sit down.”

"It’s fine, old man," Barnaby said as if he owned the place. He poked at his muffin. "So much icing…"

"Sorry."

"No, it’s fine." Barnaby took a bite, made a sound of approval, and they both ate in silence for a few minutes.

Eventually Kotetsu couldn’t take it anymore. “So why are you talking to me right now, Barnaby? You usually get your uptight ass out of here right away.”

Barnaby glared at him. Kotetsu wasn’t sorry. “I woke up early, thanks to my nightmares, and could not sleep. Since I am running earlier than normal I need something to do with my time.”

"Can’t you start hero-ing at anytime?" Kotetsu asked. He knew those guys worked round the clock, right?

"Technically we’re always at work. But it’s a little too early to get into the office for paperwork and I’d rather use the gym later when I know it is usually empty."

"You work all alone, I take it."

"We all do, we’re rivals - have you never seen HeroTV?"

"It’s been a while, but I figured you guys still had…I dunno, lackies or sidekicks or something!"

Barnaby shook his head, blonde curls bouncing. “No, nothing like that, we do things on our own just fine. I’d rather not have a ‘lackey’. I don’t need any secretary, and I don’t need a sidekick. I can use my power to take care of myself out there.”

"Haha. What power do you have?" Kotetsu asked, boredly.

"Hundred Power."

Kotetsu nearly spit out his coffee. Instead he choked on it and started coughing hard, unable to stop despite how disgusted Barnaby looked at that moment. Hundre Power!? He had that too! He knew that other people had it, but the one person he found himself talking to, he…he…

"Are you okay?" Barnaby asked, sounding like he didn’t really care that much.

"Yea, I just….I just…you!"

"You’re…not making sense…"

Should he tell him? He wasn’t sure! Maybe Barnaby would stick around and talk more, having yet more in common with Kotetsu. He was sure the fact they both had nightmares was part of the reason Barnaby decided to stay.

He opened his mouth, and…

And the bell rang, and both men turned to see who was coming in.

Another blond appeared.

A blonde girl entered, a small smile on her face and an altogether determined but pleasant air about her. She wore her hair in two pigtails that curled around and around. There were big yellow-golden flower clips on her head at the base of each pigtail. Her eyes were yellow.

She wore a school uniform, light cream colored with a dark checkered skirt and black stockings that ended in feet enclosed in cute white shoes. A red bow was on her chest. She looked little older than Kaede.

"Hi there, can I help you?" Kotetsu asked, relunctantly standing up, but giving her a smile.

She smiled warmly back. “No, no I’m just looking for something. I’m sure I tracked it right - I mean, I’m sure I saw it around here.”

"What are you looking for?" he asked her.

"Oh, I’ll know it if I see it," she said calmly. "I may have gone to the wrong place."

"Ah…."

"Sorry to have bothered you, sir!"

"No bother! No way I can help you?"

She looked at him and covered her mouth with her hand as a little laugh escaped. “I’m afraid not! But thank you!” She lowered her hand and as she turned around Kotetsu noticed, just barely noticed a troubled look on her face. And then, she was gone.

"That was strange," he said, and then watched Barnaby stand up. "Barnaby?"

"I’ve got to go, I think. I feel a little strange."

"Like..sick?"

Barnaby shook his head, but at least said something. “No….something else. Thank you for the muffin, old man.”

"Can’t you use my name?" Kotetsu asked, really wishing he would. He hated being called old…

"I think not," Barnaby answered, sounding almost like he was just teasing him. He said nothing more though, before leaving.

Kotetsu stared after him through the door. That girl looked like she could be related to Barnaby; was she? What was she looking for And why did Barnaby stick around so long?

What a strange morning!


	6. 6

"You're a NEXT?"

Kotetsu pressed himself back against the door. His hand went to the handle, ready to make a hasty exit should he need it. He was ready for Daniel to throw a tray of crusty frosting or glaze in his face, ready to be yelled at - ready to be rejected.

"...What can you do?"

"Huh?" Kotetsu didn't expect a question. However, he was sure that as soon as he answered, it would be a huge, problematic power and he would be kicked out. It was okay, he figured, because it was getting dark out and his mother probably wondered why he wasn't home from school yet.

"I said, what can you do?" Daniel asked again, standing by the register and looking at ease, like always.

"I have - I have Hundred Power."

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

"When I activate it, it makes me a hundred times stronger, and faster and...um, well everything is a hundred times more powerful."

"Wow!"

"But it only lasts five minutes, and then it takes an hour to come back," Kotetsu quickly said. See, he wasn't powerful and dangerous all the time! But five minutes was enough, he guessed.

"Only five minutes? That's strange. Most powers seem to come at will and stay however long the person wants them to, from what I've seen." Daniel shrugged. "Well, I've seen stranger and I will probably see stranger in the future. I'm not going to kick you out, Kotetsu."

"You're not?" He still wanted to close his fingers around the handle and run.

"No. Of course not. I'm not a NEXT, and I don't have any family with powers, but I don't have any issues with those different from me. You've done nothing to me." Daniel came forward. "I've been robbed before by normal men, but never once by a NEXT."

"Normal people can be horrible too. They're the ones that pick on me."

Daniel offered a soft smile and his hand. "Come on, Kotetsu. I don't mind your power. I do mind that we haven't finished frosting those brownies yet, unless you truly do need to get home."

He kind of did, but Kotetsu didn't want to leave. He'd been accepted. He wasn't going to be taking off just like that. He looked at Daniel's hand and then took it. "I can stay for five more minutes," he said, smiling even though he was still a bit anxious.

"Good. Let's go get tha frosting." Daniel pulled him along and Kotetsu went gratefully, never wanting to leave that place.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"And the rookie hero Barnaby Brooks Jr. has arrested the subject! Wow, he's climbing up in points - he just might be our new King of Heroes at the end of the season!" The announcer claimed, and Barnaby was shown on the screen dragging a kicking and screaming man away from a pile of rubble, a few streets down from his bakery.

A man shoved a microphone in Barnaby's face and asked him how it felt to make yet another arrest that day, and Barnaby answered with something about feeling great about being able to protect the city. It sounded rehearsed and Kotetsu turned down the volume.

It was the first time he had watched HeroTV in years.

It was true, what people had said, about how the show really helped NEXTs come off more accepted. It also exploited their powers a bit too much for his liking. He was more than okay with helping people and it made him wish he had whatever it took to become a hero. But he didn't like the camermen that appeared on scene right after, crowding Barnaby and taking photos. He saw the magazine covers every day with Barnaby or some other hero on them. He heard things on the radio all the time. It was just too much glamour and publicity. 

He also had begun to hear about Barnaby a lot from Kaede. She fangirl'd the heck out of him, and posters showed up on her wall. Kotetsu acted like he didn't care, but it was a little strange to see his customer being worshipped by his little girl.

The TV had gone to more coverage of the event that had just happened, highlighting some crash and focusing on Barnaby, discussing his suit and his speed and other things Kotetsu didn't care to hear about that much. He only wanted to watch the show, and was lucky to catch Barnaby in action since he was the only hero he knew and thus the one he cared about.

Actually, he did know someone else who was a hero, but hadn't spoken to him since high school. Oh well.

Kotetsu fell asleep shortly after the program, and had strange dreams yet again. He didn't dream of the hospital or Tomoe, but he dreamt of strange little creatures and disturbing imagery - multicolored spotted balls running around on strange little legs, and floating jars of ingredients. A multi-colored background and things that looked like they could be nurses, but their faces were thick black swirls. Doors and bridges that only led to more of the same...It was eerie, and he didn't like it, but the dreams refused to stop.

\---------------------

A week of those dreams passed. A week of HeroTV went by as well, and each morning Barnaby showed up, said hello, made very little small talk, and left. The blonde girl showed up again, seemingly perplexed, but she at least bought a little cake that time before going.

Two days in a row a girl near the blonde's age showed up. She was sweet as anything, and Kotetsu liked having her there. She had pink hair, shorter than the blonde's but also tied into pigtails with a red ribbon. She wore that same school uniform. Kotetsu couldn't remember seeing any girls in those outfits weeks ago. A new school, maybe?

Well, anyway, she didn't seem to be searching for anything, but it sure was strange. Kotetsu couldn't shake the feeling.

Barnaby came in one evening just as Kotetsu was getting ready to close. He looked upset, and Kotetsu paused in his sweeping. "Barnaby?"

"Can I have a carrot muffin?" he asked, distractedly. That wasn't good, was it?

"Of course - what's wrong?" Kotetsu asked, setting the broom aside. He fished out a clean glove and took a muffin from one of the back-up packages. He grabbed a napkin too and brought it around. "Sit down, and I'll get you a coffee."

"I don't want coffee this late," Barnaby snapped, and then took the muffin. His pissy look began to fade to apologetic, and he sat down with his food. "And I'm not telling you what's wrong."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know my personal issues."

"I'm not asking for your lifee story, damn. I just want to know what's wrong. And you know, it does better to talk about these things than hold them in like that," he said, waving his finger. "So really, nothing to drink?"

"...Just water, if you must insist."

Kotetsu fetched a cup and filled it with ice water, quickly bringing it to Barnaby and standing next to the table. "You can talk to me, you know."

"..." Barnaby picked at his muffin. "Did you watch HeroTV today?"

Kotetsu had mentioned watching it to him one morning, and he was sure Barnaby had been pleased. Thus, he felt bad admitting he hadn't seen it that day. "No. I didn't have time to catch it today. I'll see the highlights when I get home, but I missed it live."

"I gave points to Blue Rose by mistake."

"So?" Kotetsu tilted his head.

"You don't get the points thing, do you, old man?" Barnaby asked, annoyed.

"I get it, but when it comes to saving lives..."

"Fine. Anyway, it was upsetting."

"That's it?" Kotetsu was in disbelief that Barnaby was so upset about that. There had to be something else! He could see Barnaby upset about points, but so upset he broke his routine and wandered by in the evening?

Barnaby looked at the table. "I got into an argument with Maverick."

Awww. That had to be tough. "Over what?"

"We got onto my parents and...nevermind. In the end it all became about me refusing to drink the tea he made, because I was angry. So I stormed out."

Kotetsu held back a comment. It sounded juvenaille, but he wasn't about to say it while Barnaby seemed so upset. "I see."

"Now I have a terrible headache, and can't stop thinking."

"About what?" Kotetsu asked, but he knew the response he would get.

Barnaby just shook his head and actually started eating his muffin. He ate it slowly, and Kotetsu wandered away to finish sweeping. He did want to get home after all and he wasn't going to stand there staring at Barnaby, willing him to answer.

"Have you had more nightmares?" Barnaby suddenly asked. They hadn't talked about those in days.

Kotetsu emptied the dust pan in the garbage and eyed the hose. He wasn't going to spray down the floor that night. He just didn't have the energy. He wished again, for a second, that he had help. "Yes."

"What about?"

"I don't even know, to tell you the truth. It's like my mind took trip down the rabbit hole. Weird imagery." He shuddered, remembering some floating needles. "It's very..creepy."

"I see."

"No fire though."

Barnaby said nothing, finished his food, and stood up. "Why did you start watching HeroTV? Was it because of me?" he asked, yet another sudden question.

"Sort of. You reminded me I hadn't seen it in a while, so I decided to watch it," Kotetsu said, taking off his apron and setting it aside to wash later.

"...Oh." Barnaby looked...disappointed. He actually looked disappointed. Why would he care if Kotetsu watched for him?

But he kinda did. He may as well admit it. Kotetsu unbuttoned his prep coat and hung it up. "But it was mostly because of you. I like seeing you do well on there."

Barnaby perked up, rather cutely in Kotetsu's opinion. "Oh," was all he said, again, but it sounded much happier than the last one.

Kotetsu would never forget that.

"Well, time for me to close, Barnaby."

"Yes, you're right. I should get home as well. Good night."

"Wait wait!" Kotetsu called, putting on his brown coat as Barnaby touched the door handle. "Hey wait, let me walk with you a bit."

"Uh..." Barnaby looked alarmed.

"Just a little bit. My car isn't far. I'm not gonna follow you home, you know!" Kotetsu assured him. He would go, though, if he could. He was worried about Barnaby and wanted to make sure he was okay for the night. As far as he could tell, he lived alone.

Barnaby relaxed a little. "That's okay, I guess..."

"Great!" Kotetsu hurried to turn off the lights, and then went out the door after Barnaby.

He turned to lock the door quickly while Barnaby sighed as if he was wasting time. Kotetsu nearly chuckled. Once he was done he smiled, shoved his hands in his pockets, and eagerly walked at Barnaby's side.


	7. 7

The dreams came again.

They were more hospital themed than before, with a lot of syringes showing up, floating around Kotetsu's head no matter where he turned in that same, strange world from previous nights. He wanted out, but no matter how he ran or yelled, he couldn't escape.

It was disturbing, and to make things worse he couldn't shake it that morning. He got to work a little late and was annoyed to find Charlotte on the floor. He moved her next to the register and gave her a fond pat on the head. His own head hurt, pounding behind his eyes and making him feel a little dizzy. Hopefully it wouldn't impact his cooking for the day. 

Well, he was able to stay upright, but he felt like he kept seeing things. Something rolled across the floor - no, that was nothing. He thought he saw a jar of icing floating near the oven, for some reason, but one blink and it was gone. Another blink and he wasn't in his bakery, but some multicolored...place. A place in space.

Kotetsu was sure he was going crazy, or maybe he just had too much sugar.

Whatever it was, two hours in and it wasn't stopping, so he knew he had to go home. He cleaned up after himself and shut off the ovens when he could. He packaged a few items that could not stand to be left overnight, either under a plastic cover or in the cooler. Mostly that involved donut holes. Any later in the day he would have had to worry about a lot more. 

Bread dough went into the cooler to be proofed and baked later, trayed up cookies into the freezer. He cleaned the dishes he had to, reaching out twice for jars and big spoons he thought he saw but didn't actually exist. Geez! He swept the floor and dragged his trash through the backroom, where he felt a little better. Opening the door and feeling cold air as he threw the bag in the dumpster? Even better! Ah, he loved that!

But he had to return to the hot, dry, stifling air of the bakery before he could totally close up. He had pause from a dizzy spell, one of many that morning. Charlotte was on the cake case, and he figured he must have moved her there while moving around. He scooped her up and put her on one of the tables. In fact, he placed her on the one Barnaby usually sat down at. It made him feel good.

He turned out the lights and hung a sign up on the door to apologize for the closing and that there was an illness taking him out for the day.

Lack of sleep, that had to be it, he thought as he walked home. The nightmares were not restful and he woken up from them shaken. He couldn't get rid of the images even when awake, and it was frustrating! He went home, took an aspirin, and laid on his bed to try and rest.

Kotetsu drifted in and out of sleep. Thankfully he had no bad dreams - he was worried, so worried that they would prevent him from even catching a nap, but instead he dreamed of nothing at all. That was okay by him. He liked being able to just clear his mind and not feel too distracted to rest or worse, too depressed about being at home and useless. 

He heard Kaede come home and that woke him up somewhat. His bed was some comfortable, so warm, and even after laying down for hours by then he still felt sleepy. The good thing about it was that he hadn't ruined his sleep schedule completely, he supposed. He could still fall asleep that night when he he needed to and avoid a bigger problem of not sleeping at all before a long day.

Kaede came to his bedroom right away. "Dad? You're home early! ...Are you alright?" she asked, cracking his door open just a smidge.

"Tired, honey, that's all. I didn't sleep well last night and decided it wouldn't be a great idea to be around hot ovens all day..."

"Afraid of falling in and baking yourself into a pie?"

He snorted with laughter at that. "Exactly!"

He was sure she was smiling, but he was staring at the ceiling by then. "Can I get you anything?"

"Mmm, not right now." He closed his eyes again. "I'll get some water when I get up, but I think for now it's better I just stay in bed."

"Okay. I'll be in the living room then, if you need me. I have homework..." She sounded so put off. 

Kotetsu could only chuckle as he heard her walk away. Ah, kids...he wished he was home with Kaede more often. If he decided to get help at the bakery, he could be...he wanted to run his own special place, but he supposed, if he did meet someone, bond closely enough with someone, he wouldn't mind them working there every now and then, taking care of his precious little shop. 

He could keep wishing, too...

Suddenly his phone went off. Kotetsu startled and nearly fell off the bed. "Aaaah! What...?" Who would be calling him? He looked at the caller ID and unfortunately got no answer at all. It was a private number. He thought about ignoring it.

He answered it. "Ah...hello?"

"Kotetsu?" The voice on the other end sounded familiar. Kotetsu knew it...voices always sounded weird over the phone, didn't they? He tried to think.

"Um, yes, who is calling?" he asked, feeling a little slow. 

The long sigh on the other end was annoying at first, until he got the answer. "Barnaby Brooks Jr. Have you forgotten my voice so soon, old man?"

Kotetsu was almost too surprised to answer. Barnaby called him!? But, why? And more importantly, how did he know his number? It was unlisted, unlike the bakery. "How did you get this number?" he asked, and immediately hated himself for it. That wasn't the warmest greeting, after all. 

"I looked you up. I have access to certain records."

What a creep! ...Sort of. Kotetsu didn't mind, honestly. "Oh. Well, it's nice to get a call from y-"

"Why is the bakery closed?"

Oh. He had tried to do his daily routine and had no luck. Of course he would be annoyed. Kotetsu felt his heart sink for some reason. He wasn't that dependent on Barnaby, was he? "Just not feeling well today."

"I saw the sign. Is it serious?" Was that anxiety he detected in Barnaby's voice? Was he actually worried?

Kotetsu smiled to himself before answering. "No. I had awful dreams again and didn't sleep well, so I ended up coming home instead of trying to work."

"That's smart. I'm impressed."

How did he still manage to be such a dick? Kotetsu kept smiling though. "Ha...yea, well, sorry to throw off your routine."

"It's fine. Do you expect to be open tomorrow?" Barnaby asked him. 

"Yes. How are you, though?" he asked, venturing a little bit of small talk in hopes of keeping Barnaby on the phone.

"I....am fine. I just called to make sure all is well and that I can get my coffee tomorrow."

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "Yea yea. Well it's sweet you're worried about me, anyway, even if it's weird for you to go looking for my number."

"I...that's not...I didn't...!" Oh, hearing Barnaby getting flustered - that was downright adorable! "I will see you tomorrow, old man, so feel better!" Barnaby barked into the phone. And then the line went dead.

Yea, he'd been worried. Kotetsu tossed the phone onto the bed beside him, laying his head back against the pillow. It really was weird for Barnaby to go looking him up, but Kotetsu was too happy he did to be the slightest bit irritated about it.


	8. 8

As luck would have it, Kotetsu was able to wake up the next day without any issues. He had no nightmares. Actually, he had pleasant dreams, filled with fluffy bunnies and desserts. Wonderful! Maybe he just needed that one day off!

He whistled on his way to work and felt good going in. Charlotte had fallen from the table to the chair and he was thankful she hadn't toppled to the floor. He picked her up, gently brushed her off anyway, and couldn't help feeling that she probably wanted cake. She probably wanted a big cake, like that girl in his strange dreams. He set her right on top of the cake case, over the biggest cake he had. 

Charlotte had to appreciate the chocolate and strawberry cake sitting beneath her, for sure!

Kotetsu had a lot of catching up to do. He had to get bread going, right away. He had to change out the old stuff with some new stuff, do inventory he meant to do the day before - he was glad he was in a good mood for a day where he had to do a lot of catch-up work. 

He was able to focus relatively well, for a time, and didn't so much notice how late it was getting. He did notice, though, that the visions that plagued him the day before we still there, somewhat. There weren't as many and he did not find himself reaching for phantom jars, but he still swore he saw stuff and at one point heard something laugh. 

If the bakery was haunted, he wasn't sure what to do about it. He didn't even know if he believed in hauntings, and maybe being alone was doing funny things to him. However if he kept seeing and hearing things, that had to mean he had a ghost, right? How did he know if it was good or bad? Even a friendly ghost would give him chills. Why, he would have to move to a different building, that was all there was to it. He wanted the same place Daniel had, but the chance of being possessed by a vengeful spirit wasn't one he particularly wanted to take. He'd seen those movies and - did something run across the floor?

He was feeling so creeped out around noon that he hadn't even noticed that Barnaby hadn't dropped by. 

The door opened and he saw....he saw the girl with the blonde hair again. Odd. He was standing near the back and he was sure she didn't see him at first. She looked at the register, and then at the cake case. Her gaze stopped there and she just stared before marching purposely forward.

That's when Kotetsu strolled to his normal spot behind the counter. "Hi again! Can I help you?"

She startled and looked up at him, as if she was caught doing something. Kotetsu looked to where she was staring, wondering if she was looking at the cake she wanted - and Charlotte was inside the case. 

Inside...the...case...

He knew he placed her absent mindedly before (right?) but he also knew he had never put her in the case, next to the food, as that was a little unsanitary. "Oops. Sorry," he said, his body immediately heating up as he was also hit with anxiety. "I don't usually put dolls in the case," he told her as casually as possible. 

"Oh..." She laughed a little. "That's alright. Listen, is she for sale?"

He blinked. Someone wanted to buy the doll? The girl looked determined, and even...worried. "Ah, no, sorry."

"No offers accepted?" she asked, tilting her head and offering a small smile.

Kotetsu smiled back despite how nervous he was feeling. "Unfortunately no. She's erm...mine." He felt dumb. He could have said she was his daughter's! But that felt strange. She wasn't his daughter's. She wasn't even his. And she lived at that bakery. Even if he didn't like her, he couldn't possibly let her go and feel right about it. 

Who else did she have, since her mother - er, no, previous owner - died? ...Why did he think that?

"Sir, are you alright?" the girl asked, concerned. 

He snapped out of it. "Ah...oh, yes. Thanks for asking. It's just been a long day."

"Oh. Do you by any chance serve tea here?"

"Mmm, I do have some hot tea, yes. Let me guess - a little cup of tea and a slice of lemon-berry cake?" he asked. He had some young girls in the store, not many, but some, and they liked either that cake or the chocolate the most. 

She looked very pleased. "Sure!"

"Coming right up," he said, pouring her tea into a disposable cup. "Sorry I don't have proper teacups here, I'd be afraid of them breaking."

"Oh, that's quite alright. Maybe I have the cake on a paper plate? I'll eat it here!"

Oooh, company! He was grateful. "Of course!"

He served it up quickly as she sat at the table, smoothing her skirt and sitting so, so proper. Barnaby would have been proud, Kotetsu told himself. He brought her a napkin and fork and knife as well, feeling at ease. 

"I'm Kotetsu, by the way." He might as well introduce himself. 

"Nice to meet you, Kotetsu," she replied. "I'm Mami," she said, only giving him a singular name as well. That's alright. Young girls shouldn't just give their whole names to strangers, right? 

"Nice to meet you too Mami! So, you decided to come back! Did you find what you were looking for the other day?" he asked, still curious about that encounter. 

"Well, I finally did, but..." she hesitated, taking a bite of her cake. 

"Yes?" he asked, fidgeting with the pound cake display. 

"But you won't sell her."

"..." His doll? Really? But, why? "I...see...is she an antique?"

He could tell she was going to say no, but she instead took another bite and slowly nodded. 

"I see. I just can't part with Charlotte, though-"

"You know her name?" Mami asked sharply.

"Uh, yea, it's um, on her tag," Kotetsu lied. 

She studied him. "Is it..."

"Mmmmhmmm." He nodded. He knew she didn't believe him. He wasn't going to say it just came into his head and fit! He needed to treat her like a normal doll - dammit, she was a normal doll, even if she had wound up in his cake case with no explanation! "How did you know about her?"

"I collect those," she answered simply. "I'd been looking for that one a while, and kept being pointed to this neighborhood, but I didn't see her before."

"I see."

She continued to eat her cake, and when just about done, sipped her tea and looked at him. "Kotetsu...you will want to be careful with that doll. It's a little more sought after than you think."

"Charlotte? ...Why?"

"She's just very...rare. Having her here could be dangerous for you and your bakery."

"Ah..." He didn't want to admit he kind of believed her when she said that, just because everything was already a little weird. "I'd still rather not sell her. I'm very sorry, but Charlotte is staying here in her, er, my bakery."

Mami sighed, and then nodded. "I understand." She stood up. "I will come back though, to see if you change your mind."

Kotetsu smiled and nodded politely. "I welcome your company, Mami, you are welcome anytime."

The smile she offered him in return was genuine, he could tell. "Thank you, Kotetsu. Your cake was delicious, and I will be sure to have it again."

"Oh, thank YOU," he said earnestly, feeling at ease since they were moving on from Charlotte. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!"

"I will. You too," she told him, and bid her farewell.

...It wasn't until after she left that he wondered why a student had been there in the middle of the day.


	9. 9

That night Kotetsu arrived home at a decent enough time. Kaede had just finished her homework, and was free to yap at - which he did! Then with her help he prepared a nice dinner for them to share, and they talked calmly at the table.

They didn't talk about anything important. Kotetsu asked her how school was going, about her friends, about any upcoming events, and so on. She smiled as she answered him and it felt so good to be home in time to have a conversation with her. He just wished it had been earlier in the evening, because soon she got tired which led to her being cranky.

He let her do her thing then - watching TV or reading until she felt too tired, and then she would get ready for bed and go to sleep. Kotetsu wished for the excuse to go in her bedroom and kiss her goodnight but that had stopped a while ago. She hated it when he did that. He just cleaned until he noticed her door was shut.

Kotetsu almost watched HeroTV, but he decided on a movie and a beer instead. He hadn't seen Barnaby at all that day which was concerning since he had called the night before to check on him. It made him wonder if something happened. If he turned on HeroTV and Barnaby was fine, he would be relieved, but wonder why he didn't show up. If he didn't see him, he'd be worried.

And Kotetsu didn't really want to deal with feeling rejected or worried when his night was going so well. He didn't need to act like some creepy stalker, spying on Barnaby via the television. Maybe it was wrong not to check on his friend - and he felt strange for not doing so - but he also knew he should give his mind a rest and just enjoy something nice like a movie after a great dinner and conversation with Kaede.

It wound up being a good choice. He had chosen a comedy that had him laughing constantly and he went to bed smiling. 

 

In the middle of the night, after a confusing and rather unnerving dream about cookies breaking everywhere, his phone rang.

Kotetsu answered it without checking the ID, too out of it to care or even think about who on earth could be calling him at such a late hour. "Hello?" he answered, groggily. 

"Yes, Stern Bild Police Department, are you Kotetsu Kaburagi?"

The police? He started to wake up a little more. "Er...yes..."

"Owner of Tiger's Treats?"

"...That's me..."

"Hello sir, we are calling because there has been a break-in."

"...WHAT!?"

 

Twenty minutes later Kotetsu was turning the corner to see lights flashing and a few policemen standing around outside their parked cars, in front of his bakery. He saw a reporter and - and was that Barnaby, too? The tall blonde was standing off to the side, leaning against his chaser and just staring at the store. He wasn't talking to anyone and wore his red jacket even though it seemed a little too cold for it. 

Kotetsu tried to ignore him for a moment as he approached the police. "Hello! I'm here, what happened?" he asked, even though it became clearer the closer he drew. He could see his main window busted, chairs overturned and...he couldn't see much inside yet, but he hoped not too much product was ruined. His chest hurt, and had hurt ever since he hung up the phone to get dressed and bundle up in warm clothing. He was so anxious he wondered if he was going to throw up. The lights were making him feel dizzy and the cold air on his face stung.

"Ah, Mr. Kaburagi." A big, burly officer whose face was mostly beard stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "Trey Skrimit, nice to meet you, and sorry to have to relay this kind of news to you."

"It's...alright." He seemed nice. "So...details?"

"Well, aside from the window and the tables, some of the displays are knocked over, and the cake case was broken - oddly, the cakes seem to have been removed before it was broken. It doesn't look like the register was touched, and as far as food - well, you'll be able to tell if anything was taken, I'm sure. Things are knocked over but it doesn't appear that they stole anything. 

Odd. It made his chest hurt a little less, but having his business invaded was still scary. "Okay? They broke in but didn't take anything? Does that really...happen?" he asked, perplexed.

Trey sighed and nodded. "Believe it or not, this sort of thing is someone's idea of fun. Causing trouble for an honest, hard-working citizen gives them a thrill."

Kotetsu nodded slowly, not wanting to get dizzier. He noticed Barnaby moving in the corner of his eye. He had stepped away from his chaser. Kotetsu kept his attention on Trey though. "So...I mean...no one was seen? How do I...I want to know who did it..."

"Nothing was seen, no, but we will be looking and there are more possible witnesses to approach," Trey assured him. "We will find the culprits, and insurance will help you take care of your window. Be thankful you didn't get an arsonist or a burglar. This city is dangerous, and it could have been worse..."

"Mmm...yea..." Kotetsu had to agree with that, and he did so in a daze. He didn't know how to deal with the current situation. He'd never been robbed. Even the liquor store his family own had always been safe and secure. "Uh, what do I do now?"

"Clean up and wait, mostly. Oh, and we do have some paperwork for you..." Trey started, but then Barnaby was there too, standing next to the officer, who startled when he spoke.

"Let the man go inside and see what has happened. He hasn't even gotten a good look," Barnaby said softly, his gaze on Kotetsu.

And...that gaze was strange. Kotetsu read concern in it but wasn't really sure what else. It was very focused, and Barnaby just stared... "Um..uh, yea, I would like to go inside."

"Alright. I guess that would be fine," Trey said, giving Barnaby an odd look. "By the way, we did not call the heroes, this is such a small crime compared to what they handle...why are you here?" he asked him.

"I just had a feeling I should be here," Barnaby answered, which obviously annoyed Trey but he didn't say anything, nor did he stop the two from walking past the cars to check the inside of the bakery. 

Kotetsu was curious too though. He tried to look away from the lights. "So...why are you here?" he asked as he stared at the broken window. 

"I was concerned something worse may have happened, and didn't know if you were here or at home."

"Why would I be here in the middle of the night?"

"Don't bakers start early? At least, I know they do in larger bakeries."

"Yes, but...I'm one guy with a daughter. I need to have time to go home, take care of her, eat, and sleep, you know? I can't start things in the odd hours of the night," Kotetsu said, suddenly feeling tired. He'd been so upset and worried he kind of forgot he'd had little sleep before the phone rang.

"I see," Barnaby said simply.

"Were you worried about me again, then?"

Barnaby didn't answer.

Kotetsu turned on the lights as soon as he could, and cringed as the mess was completely visible. Broken glass everywhere, one chair was broken, containers of smashed cookies and some smushed muffins, pound cakes, other various things... However, it wasn't a large part of his stock. Most things on stable shelves remained intact and other items, such as turnovers and rolls that didn't break on impact, just sat on the floor in their bags and containers. 

He was actually surprised it wasn't worse. And like Trey had said his cake case was all messed up, but the cakes had been removed and looked fine. He couldn't trust them and couldn't sell them, but someone had taken the time to remove them. 

He walked behind the counter with Barnaby following him. His register was fine and upon opening it, it was untouched. That meant the safe was probably okay. The ovens were fine, his supplies were fine..he scratched his head. "Hmm. They didn't steal from me."

"Uh huh." Barnaby was unimpressed as he poked at a carrot cake.

"You can eat that if you want."

Barnaby gave him an insulted look. "Someone may have touched it when they took it from your case!"

"Then don't eat it. Just saying, I can't sell it so help yourself." He shrugged. He didn't think the culprit would have removed his cakes from the case only to do something weird to them. Those cakes were pretty, and maybe the person, or people, actually didn't want to wreck them. 

"I don't think so..." Barnaby snorted. "So nothing is missing at all? They just made a mess?"

"I guess so. And I- wait." Kotetsu felt his stomach lurch and a dizzy spell hit hard even though he wasn't looking at the lights. He saw strange colors and knew something was wrong. Something was not where it should be, and he felt hit by despair, and sadness.

"Wait..." Barnaby had echoed him, and then reacted in alarm as Kotetsu suddenly ran to the backroom. "Kotetsu!" he yelled after him, following.

Kotetsu ran into the room, heart beating fast. He checked his seat, he checked the side table, the shelves, the closet...it was nowhere! He raised his hands to the sides of his head and nearly fell with a stumble. 

The only reason he didn't was the warm pair of hands that landed on his arms and steadied him as Barnaby asked him what was wrong and if he was okay.

Kotetsu felt like he heard crying in his head, why? Because she had been taken from her home, that's why! 

"Kotetsu!" Barnaby yelled, and snapped him out of it. Kotetsu stared at him, and Barnaby's face kind of faded in and out of focus even though it was pretty close. "Kotetsu, what's the matter?"

Kotetsu was amazed he was finally able to open his mouth and answer. "They took Charlotte!"


	10. 10

His head hurt so much. He felt depressed, he felt crushed. Kotetsu felt hopeless, even. He stared at his coffee, unable to take a sip. It wasn't going to do anything for him, because he didn't care that much about being awake.

He also wasn't making a move to go home and go to sleep. 

The police had been gone for an hour. Kotetsu and Barnaby had sat down together at a table to share coffee, and perhaps for comfort, but Barnaby was quietly sipping while Kotetsu was just staring. It was doing nothing for either of them, he was sure, so why was Barnaby there? Kotetsu didn't understand that man at all.

He also didn't understand who would take his doll. The girl who had come in said she was rare, but so rare that someone would break in for her? And how come no one else inquired about her? And why was he SO upset over it? It didn't make much sense to him. That doll wasn't something he'd had for years and there was no reason to have a deep emotional attachment to her.

But her not being in her 'home' just made him very, very sad. It had to be more from stress and exhaustion than 'missing his dolly', he was sure. 

Somehow that reminded him he kind of had to get the hell home. Kaede was there, sleeping, alone. He wasn't worried about her, honestly. Maybe he should have woken her when he left but she needed her sleep and was beyond competent for a girl of her age. "I have to go home," he muttered, knowing he was making failing excuses in his head for being a neglectful father. 

"Alright." Barnaby stood up. "There is nothing more we can do," he said. They had done some basic cleaning up, but it was all they could do. Kotetsu would not be open the next day even if he did come in at some point to take care of items that needed to be moved from the cooler or taken from the shelf. 

"I am so tired." Kotetsu looked at his cup of coffee, and decided to do nothing with it. He wasn't even motivated to pour it out. 

Barnaby looked at him, staring for an uncomfortably long time before he finally spoke. "My place is close by. Maybe it would be best if you rested there for the remainder of this night, so that you are close by tomorrow, and in the case someone comes looking for you."

"Your...place...?" Kotetsu asked slowly, not believing what he was hearing. Barnaby invited him to his place? What? But, but he was so guarded and cold and careful! Why would he invite Kotetsu...? It had to be some sad form of pity on the old man who couldn't protect his own little store. He couldn't protect a damn doll. 

Barnaby nodded slowly. "I think it would be the safest and most logical choice."

He made it sound so official and dull. Kotetsu was still honored, even though he couldn't take him up on the offer. "I'm sorry, Barnaby, but I can't." He swore Barnaby looked sad. "My daughter is asleep at home, and she's young. I need to get back."

Barnaby blinked. "You...have a daughter?"

Kotetus blinked back, and walked toward the light switch. "I do...I told you...I thought..." Had he? How much had he even told Barnaby about his life? Not much...

"I don't remember," Barnaby said, and in that moment he sounded like he was mentally far away. It was like he was checking out and it was a little bizarre. And then it was over. "I will escort you."

"Are you that worried about me?" Kotetsu asked, confused. He could defend himself on the way home, not that he was going to tell Barnaby about his powers...not yet. 

Barnaby looked away. He didn't seem cold in that moment, but scared. It was like he didn't want to admit he cared for Kotetsu. It was as if he was afraid to have a friend or something. Kotetsu had met shy people before, he'd met scared people, but there was something so off about Barnaby that he couldn't quite mark it.

He didn't press and turned out the light so they could leave. He locked the door behind them. Then he started walking, steering Barnaby where he needed to. 

About ten minutes into the walk, Kotetsu decided to talk again. "Hey, you're gonna be tired for your job tomorrow," he said, having realized that about two minutes prior. He felt bad not considering it before. But he also hadn't been able to think well when near the bakery. 

"I rarely sleep well. It's not a big deal."

"..." Not sure what to do with the information, Kotetsu fell silent. He was sure Barnaby meant the nightmares. 

He remained silent until Barnaby asked him something. "Kotetsu, why did you become a baker?"

"Um, I like baking."

"That can't be the whole truth, or surely you'd have been a baker long before this." 

"I do like it." Kotetsu considered how much he should tell Barnaby. Well, the man was letting down his walls even the littlest bit, and maybe it would help if he talked about himself more. "I met a baker as a kid. I ran into his bakery after a very tough day, and he talked to me, he gave me something good to eat, and we became friends. He helped me."

"You wish to repeat the experience."

Kotetsu's shoulders sagged because of how dumb it sounded. "Uh-huh. But I tried something else for a while, thinking it would be more helpful of me to actually pursue work in a place that directly aided people." He thought it would be better than being a cooking therapist. Why hadn't he ever learned to become a therapist? ...Nah, he knew he couldn't handle that. 

"What did you do before this?"

"Worked at a hospital. Not as a doctor or anything you need years of schooling for. I did more paperwork than anything. But I liked to talk to patients when I saw them, and do what I could to make them feel better when it was something I was allowed to do."

Barnaby nodded, Kotetsu could see it out of the corner of his eye. "I see."

"I know, it's all very...dumb."

"Why did you leave the hospital?"

It was getting so personal. Kotetsu felt uncomfortable. At the same time, he felt good about Barnaby...his presence had successfully eased the feelings of sadness and panic stemming from Charlotte's disappearance. "It wasn't fulfilling and...and...made me upset after spending too much time in it."

"I can see that. A hospital is a depressing place."

"No..." As much as Barnaby being there helped, his heart began to hurt just approaching the next thing. "No, you see, it...it wasn't just that." And he fell quiet. Could he really talk about it? Barnaby was walking him home. Barnaby wanted to protect him. Barnaby came out in the middle of the night because he was worried about him, even with how little the two actually knew about each other. 

"What was it then?"

"Have you lost someone, Barnaby?"

"My...parents."

Kotetsu stopped and Barnaby kept walking, for a few steps anyway. Then he stopped too but didn't turn around. "Barnaby?" Kotetsu asked.

"My parents were killed when I was a child. I am still searching for the murderer."

"Barnaby!" Kotetsu said, alarmed. He shivered as the wind picked up momentarily. "Barnaby why did you never tell me?"

"The whole world will know soon enough, since I don't use a secret identity. I'm sure it's in a magazine somewhere. But I do not like to speak about it."

"But...you should have told me about this," Kotetsu insisted. "If we're friends, you should tell me the important things, so I know when I talk to you, so I know...how..."

Barnaby still hadn't turned. "Well now you know. I have indeed lost someone, and it haunts me every day. I cannot find the murderer. The organization that I believe is behind it is good at covering their tracks. All I do is search, and search..."

Kotetsu swallowed and then approached him slowly, touching his arm. Barnaby flinched and looked at him. "Barnaby, thank you for telling me," Kotetsu said, sincerely, trying to get a read on Barnaby's chilled and troubled looking face. 

Barnaby dropped his eyes to the ground, and began to slowly walk again. "So why did you leave the hospital?" he asked, his voice making it clear he did not wish to talk about himself anymore. 

Kotetsu let it go for the moment. He could tell opening up had been difficult for the blonde. He wished he could take him back to a warm bakery and give him nice hot cookies and milk and take care of him.

Barnaby was sweet.

"My wife died after a long illness. She spent the last few weeks in the hospital. And...when I am there, I think about that." He had to hold back tears as darkness tried to settle over him. 

Barnaby had stopped yet again just to look at him. "Your wife..."

"I didn't mention her either, huh? Makes sense. I don't like to bring up such sad topics," he said, hiding his teary eyes. 

"Kotetsu..." Barnaby's voice had become very gentle. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Look, it's okay, I would have told you sooner or later," Kotetsu said, faking a smile. "Anyway, you can see why it was hard for me to work there. I stayed longer to make enough money to start up my own business, and then, well, I got the bakery."

Barnaby nodded and waited for Kotetsu before he began to walk again. "If you had powers, I believe you would be a good candidate for a hero," he said, and Kotetsu was surprised - both because it was such a nice thing to say, and because he had forgotten Barnaby didn't know about him yet. 

Kotetsu looked at him and and not where he was going, walking against Barnaby by accident for a moment. Barnaby didn't move. He didn't seem to mind. "Ah, you think so?" Kotetsu asked. 

Barnaby nodded. "I know so."

"...Thanks, Barnaby..." Kotetsu said, eyes wide and tears on his cheeks, though he didn't care so much if they were seen. Barnaby had said something truly kind to him. 

"Mmmm."

"Listen, my home is up ahead. It's late. Why don't you stay over?" Kotetsu asked, not thoroughly thinking it through. He knew that was a strange thing to ask, but, suddenly, he felt horrible to have Barnaby walk there with him and then turn him out in the cold. Barnaby was his friend.

Friend.

Kotetsu had to show he cared for him. He wanted Barnaby to know someone appreciated him as a person, and wanted him happy and warm, and all he could feel was affection for him in that moment. 

Barnaby shook his head. "No, I-"

"It's cold. You must be tired. ...Uh, I could use the extra feeling of security." And if either of them had nightmares, someone would be there who understood. Not that Kaede didn't care when he had them, but he hated to put her through such a thing. He was sure without Charlotte he would have bad dreams. 

Maybe. Maybe not if Barnaby was in his home, his warm presence there and showing he gave a shit. 

"Please?" he asked Barnaby, hoping he wouldn't be essentially rejected. 

Barnaby didn't reply, not until they were almost at the stairs of the building. Then, with a long sigh, he stared at the door, looking tired. Kotetsu waited for an answer, not moving to go inside until he heard something. 

Luckily for him, Barnaby relented. He agreed in a quiet voice, but he still agreed. "I have decided, I will stay for the night."

Kotetu smiled. "Thanks, Barnaby."


	11. 11

If there was one thing Kotetsu found he was certain of, it was that he needed a new couch. It was uncomfortable on his back and he half sank into it in a most unpleasant way. The only part that made it bearable was the two soft black and pink blankets he had laying over him as he struggled to fall asleep.

It'd taken a while but he convinced Barnaby to take his bed. Barnaby was appalled when he suggested it, not at all okay with sleeping in somone else's bed. Then he saw it was unmade and Kotetsu couldn't answer him in regards to when he put the blankets in the laundry last. That made things even more difficult. Eventually, however, Kotetsu convinced him it would really be the best idea. He didn't want Kaede to discover Barnaby and freak out and he didn't want her to wake him up either.

Kotetsu could sleep in late the next day, but Barnaby had work. He needed his sleep and Kaede would be up pretty early.

Unfortunately it reached that time far too soon and Kotetsu was just drifting off when he hard her door open. He couldn't close out any of the small sounds, all of them irritating him and giving him a hadache - the flush of th toilet, the running water, the door opening, footsteps, a little sigh, the sound of the fridge as she got a drink...

He rolled around on th couch wishing the sounds would stop getting to him. He'd been awake for hours by then and it was getting to him bad, on top of thinking about dealing with insurance, the police, more cleaning up, and finding Charlotte. Poor Charlotte. She had to be so upset, well, if she was alive she would be.

The living room light came on. "Dad?"

"Eh?" he rolled over to face away from the back of the couch and stared bleerily at his sleepy looking daughter, her hair a mess and still in her pajamas with a small glass of milk in her right hand. "Oh, hi, honey. Feeling alright?"

She blinked. "Um...why are you out here?" she asked and concern was evident in her voice.

"I fell asleep her after a long night."

"Long night? What happened while I was asleep...?" she asked, and she fidgeted with her free hand, tugging gently at the bottom of her shirt.

He didn't really want to worry her with it, nor did he want to talk about it, but he had to. "My bakery was broken into. Now they didn't take anything but an antique! But it was still...messed up."

Kaede's eyes went wide and she was more awake in that instant. "You...you weren't there when it happened, were you?" she asked with her voice small and the question didn't make much sense but he couldn't blame her for feeling worried and asking it.

"No, no." He sat up and lookeed at her. "I was woken up by a phone call and-"

"Why didn't you tell me!?" she asked, anger showing. She was always so quick to anger, and Kotetsu worried about that a lot.

He held up one hand as if to stop her. "Kaede, sweetie! There was no reason to wake you up. It wasn't a good situation to involve you in, and you need your sleep for school. I couldn't have brought you with me, so where's the sense in it?" he asked, yawning as he finished.

She studied him, and then nodded. "Actually, you're right...well...so the bakery is okay?"

"A bit busted up and trashed. I cleaned it up somewhat but it's still a mess," he said, rubbing his face gently. "I can't open today, and maybe not for a few days because the window needs to be replaced and I'm not sure when they'll get to it."

Kaede shifted on her feet. "Oh...so...what are you going to do?"

"Wait, and fill out paperwork and whatever else I need to do. Go down there and take care of food that is no good, and probably see if I can at least bake off the stuff I prepped and give it away for now." He shrugged. He couldn't hav customers in there, but he could run his ovens and cook things off. Maybe a shelter could use some bread and coffee cakes, muffins and other goodies. He'd rather not waste it.

"People will like that."

"I know, honey." He started to move to get up. "Anyway I'll help you get ready for school."

"I can do it myself!" she snapped - or tried. There was no actual anger in her voice. "Dad go back to sleep! I get ready on my own all the time and you look tired."

"Ah, well..."

"And...Dad?" she asked, and turned toward the entranceway to the apartment.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Why are there long red boots by the door?" she asked, pointing. And there, sitting next to Kotetsu's old tattered boots, were Barnaby's immaculate pair of ridiculous boots. They stood out like a sore thumb. God, he should have put them somewhere else! At least Barnaby had brought hisn jacket in the room with him instad of hanging it up!

Quick, quick, he had to come up with something...and he did! "Ah, I found them there. Police had already gone, so I brought them home."

"You shouldn't tamper with evidence!" she said, looking at the boots still. Did she recognize them? Kotetsu would cry if Barnaby chose that moment to have a nightmare and scream or whatever he did during them.

But the bedroom remained silent. "Well honey, if I left them there, someone could have gone and taken them. Remember, busted window. Even if it means climbing through broken glass the criminal could come back for them."

"Why would he take off his boots and LEAVE?" she asked, incredulous.

"Um..." Kotetsu paused, thinking, trying to find a good answer...and while what he came up with wasn't really good, it was at least true. "Because people who do things like this to other people are deranged and do strange things."

Kaede seemed to accept that. "Oh. Well, I'm just happy you're safe, dad..."

"...Aww..." He hadn't expected that. Kotetsu smiled sleepily, almost wanting to cry.

"Anyway, go back to bed! I'm getting rady for school, so don't bug me!" she announced. Then she marched right off. Kotetsu just chuckled and laid back down.

Somehow, he fell asleep.

 

And he stayed asleep for some hours. He didn't have a time to be up, and so it didn't bother him to keep sleeping with total disregard for the time of morning, or even afternoon. He knew Barnaby had set an alarm on his phone and figured he would go do his thing and slip off when he woke up.

It made Kotetsu sad to think of him being gone when he woke up. He didn't really want to be alone, but, he would deal with it just fine. He didn't know when he would see Barnaby next, but maybe he would come by his place on his own since he couldn't go to the bakery.

Maybe he could keep dreaming, but Kotetsu didn't have any, good or bad. He slept a peaceful sleep and woke up with th sun shining through the nearby window and warming his face. It felt so nice, especially as he woke up slowly and remembered it was cold outside. The radiators in his place had kicked on and it gave him a cozy feel.

Kotetsu sat up and stretched, eager to move to his own bed. He knew it had to be near noon and that meant his bed was free. He felt too nice waking up to be too sad about it, luckily, and he wrapped the blankets around himself as he wandered towards his closed door.

He opened it and nearly shouted in surprise at the blonde curls he could see resting on his pillows.

Barnaby was still in his bed, and still under the covers, his shirt and jacket still hanging off the closet doorknob. He was totally out, heavy breathing as he slept.

"Barnaby!" Kotetsu said in surprise and his friend still didn't move. Kotetsu rushed over and looked at his phone - he couldn't tell if his alarm had gone off or not, but it didn't matter. He could see a blinking light that could indicate a missed call - was he in trouble?

Kotetsu put a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake.

Barnaby moaned softly, rolled onto his back, opened his eyes - and then they flew even wide and he lifted his head off the pillow as if startled. "Ah, what - Kotetsu!? Why are you waking me up? Is everything okay?" he asked in alarm. If Kotetsu could se his hands he was sure they were balled in fists. Barnaby probably woke up ready to defend himself.

"Yea, yea! At least, I...I think so!" he said, biting his lip. "Um, it's almost noon, I think-"

"WHAT!?" Barnaby sat up straighter and Kotetsu jumped back. "Why didn't you wake me up before!?"

"I JUST woke up! What about your alarm!?"

"It...it!" Barnaby's mouth hung open as realization dawned on him. "It...oh, no. It went off, I thought I hit snooze, but I must have shut it off..."

"YOU hit SNOOZE?" Kotetsu asked in disbelieef as Barnaby stared at his phone.

"I-I was sleeping so well I didn't want it to stop. I never sleep well, I told you. But I did...it felt good, I didn't want it to stop." Barnaby was half mumbling. "No nightmares and nothing hurt."

"Nothing...hurt?" Kotetsu asked, his head tilting. That was an odd thing to hear. All of it was, sort of, but maybe his bed was just comfier than Barnaby's. A lot of money and even a good mattress didn't always equal comfort. His bed was soft, old, worn in and just right.

"My head often hurts a lot, I wake up not feeling that well..." Barnaby muttered and held his phone to his ear. "Maverick is going to be really mad..."

"Uh, did work call?" Kotetsu asked, and sat on the edge of the bed. Barnaby looked so disheveld, so out of it, that he just wanted to grab the man and hug him tightly. It didn't matter that he was shirtless.

"Maybe. Calling Maverick," came the short, snappy reply. Barnaby reached for his glasses as he waited on the phone and then started speaking. "Mr. Maverick, I'm so sorry I didn't come in I...yes! Yes, I'm alright! I'm okay - no, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I know I should never ever pull something like this - well see I didn't sleep in my own bed IT'S NOT LIKE THAT...I guess it was really comfortable, my head didn't hurt, but I ignored my alarm without meaning to...uh-huh...uh-huh...."

Kotetsu half listened as Barnaby apologized over and over to Maverick and explained about sleeping better, feeling better, and then in turn also rejected what came off as an offer to get him a new mattess.

"Uh - what?" Barnaby sounded surprised and Kotetsu looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, yes, sure, I suppose- okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. I'll be there tomorrow. Good bye." He hung up the phone, a stunned look on his face.

"Well?" Kotetsu asked, hoping everything was all right.

"He...he gave me the rest of the day off, and wasn't too mad. He gave me the rest...off...said he'd call my immediate boss and..." Barnaby looked up at Kotetsu. "Heroes don't get days off, not really, even if labor laws say we need to have them."

"Surely heroes call in sick sometimes, when it's severe?" Kotetsu asked. He didn't know much about that at all, but he figured a hero who was barfing and had the runs wasn't going to be of much help.

Barnaby shrugged. "I guess..."

Kotetsu sighed and waved his hand. "Go back to sleep. Take advantage while you're here."

Barnaby looked at him like he was nuts. "What? No, I have to go home. And you want your bed back, don't you?"

"I'll be fine," Kotetsu said. "I'll get up and go to the police station."

"Then I'll go with you." Barnaby started to push the covers off.

"No, you rest!" Kotetsu cried, grabbed the covers, and forced them back on Barnaby who gave him a pissed off look.

"But you want your bed back."

"I'll go to the police."

"And I'll go too!"

"I...Barnaby!" Kotetsu didn't see a solution being worked out. H wanted Barnaby to rest and didn't think he really should go back to sleep on the couch when he had to get things done. He had to take care of business and get Charlotte!

But he could se hee couldn't do that without Barnaby getting out of bed, and even if it was late in the morning they had gone to bed at a wretched hour and still hadn't caught up on sleep.

Kotetsu thought for a second. Then he smirked and flopped over on Barnaby's legs, still wrapped in his blankets.

"H-hey!" Barnaby yelped in surprise. "Get off me!"

"Go to sleep. Lay down and go to sleep. We can get another couple of hours at least before we should actually go." And before Kaede came home, because then it could get difficult.

"Kotetsu...you're...sleeping on my legs."

"Yep."

"That can't be comfortable."

The weird thing was, it was sort of comfortable. Kotetsu reached for an unused pillow for his head to rest on and then he was perfect, curled up like a content tiger with Barnaby's legs twitched beneath his own. "I'm fine, Barnaby."

"But-I'm...uh..." Poor Barnaby didn't know how to react, and it was kind of cute.

.Kotetsu smiled and closed his eyes. "Go to sleep."


	12. 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took this long to get to the next part ;_;

Once they had finally woken up and gotten ready for the day, Kotetsu insisted on taking Barnaby to a cafe for coffee and a slice of pie. Barnaby objected of course, inisting he had to go home and get changed and then begin helping Kotetsu figure things out as soon as possible. Kotetsu understood the need to get out of clothing one had been in for far too long, but he still wanted to do something nice for Barnaby.

He was a little miffed when Barnaby insisted on paying - but at least he sat at the table with him. 

"Barnaby, I want to thank you for coming over. I know you weren't to sure about it." He sipped his coffee, which had a shot of caramel in it and lots of sugar. It was good. He also had a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie that he was less than thrilled with. He could tell it had been shipped to the cafe pre-made and frozen, but it wasn't exactly an ideal season for making that pie fresh and thus he could forgive it.

Instead of pie Barnaby had opted for carrot cake. He ate a lot of it before he even touched his fancy vanilla macchia-whatever-it-was-cinno. He nodded at Kotetsu as he finished a sip. "It's no problem Kotetsu. I slept well, and Maverick forgave me for not coming in, and now I can aid you a bit better."

Warmth crept to Kotetsu's face. Barnaby had felt so cold not so long ago, but his words made Kotetsu's heart swell. It was nice to not feel so alone. He just had to hope it wasn't all about Barnaby's work as a hero. "Thank you...you don't have to."

Barnaby just waved his hand and offered a hint of a smile. "Please. It's my job. And I like your bakery, Kotetsu. When I like..something...I'm not going to let it down," he said, studying the small amount of cake he had left on his little blue plate. 

He sounded honest and that was one of the first things Kotetsu noticed. He LOVED it. He knew they had started on a good path the night before talking about their pasts and goals just a bit. It was a relief to see it continuing. "I see," he said quietly, lacing his own fingers together on the tabletop. The cafe was warm and friendly with soft lights and picture of the older segments of the city. He didn't want to go. "Did you really sleep better at my place?"

"I..." Barnaby acted like he was going to dodge the question. "...Yes, actually, I did." It looked like it took a lot for him to say that.

"Um..." Kotetsu's laced fingers twitched. "Yanno..if you'd like you can stay over whenever." He knew how awkward it sounded as soon as it left his lips, but he wanted to be able to offer something. 

Barnaby fixed him with a slightly insulted looking stare. "Excuse me? How would that work?" 

"I dunno! I just...I like that you were able to rest." Maybe that was why Barnaby seemed so happy. "I can hug couch once in a while and Kaede will get nosy but...ah well maybe it wouldn't hurt if you two met."

"You want me to meet your DAUGHTER?" Barnaby shifted in his chair like he was ready to bolt and it made Kotetsu very nervous. He didn't want to freak him out with his sudden clinginess and affection. And he truly did want to HELP. He liked Barnaby coming to his place but what he was offering was much more for Barnaby than for himself. 

...Right?

Well it didn't matter if he pissed Barnaby off. "She's one of your fans! And honestly, I'm not home enough and I just...it would be a treat for her..." It would be. He did want Kaede to meet her hero. And it would make him look SO cool. He knew that was a selfish thought but damn, if only Kaede would think of him as cool....but bakers weren't cool. 

"Hmmm." Barnaby tapped his fork on his plate. "I suppose it would be nice for her. I got to meet anyone I wanted growing up, since Maverick is the CEO."

"Oh? Who did you meet?"

Barnaby concentrated on his cake. "Um...you know, I don't remember. I just know if I said I wanted to meet someone he said okay and he arranged it for me..." Barnaby looked perplexed and embarrassed.

Kotetsu had to admit he'd feel silly too if he forgot meeting someone important. He wasn't going to pick at it. "Is that a yes? Maybe once the bakery is back up to normal and I've found Charlotte?"

"Yes I...Charlotte? The creepy doll?"

"You said yes!" Kotetsu grinned and leaned back in the chair trying to ignore that his precious Charlotte had been called creepy. "So you will meet her!"

"Uh-huh." Barnaby waved his hand to show he was done with the issue. "I don't understand what it is about this doll...you should be thinking about finding the criminal and getting everything back together."

"I found her there."

"She's not a family heirloom, not really of value then."

"Hey! I've been told she is hard to find! Some girl wanted to buy her! And besides, she's valuable to me! I find her comforting and...and the bakery is her home." He knew how dumb it sounded. 

"Some girl wanted to buy her?" Barnaby asked quickly, not touching on the other stuff. It was a bit of a relief that he didn't. 

"Yes, this blonde girl came in and asked about her, but she was so sweet...and I highly doubt she would be breaking any windows!"

"Kotetsu..." Barnaby rubbed his forehead in obvious irritation, eyes narrowed. "Did you tell the cops about that girl?"

"No." Kotetsu cringed. "Ah...she also said it may be dangerous for me to have that doll and-"

"Kotetsu!" Barnaby yelled and heads turned. Barnaby lowered his voice, looking angry. "How could you keep that secret? Why didn't you at least tell ME?"

"Well I just...she was very sweet and..."

"What were you thinking!?"

"I wasn't, okay?" Kotetsu hissed back. "I was pretty distraught last night, Barnaby!" That was the partial truth. He had a lot on his mind the night before...stress that his daughter was at home alone, stress over the mess and taking care of the bakery, sadness over Charlotte being gone...and his pre-occupation with his new friend Barnaby. 

Yea, the last one was maybe a little bit shameful. 

"But you should still have mentioned it!"

Kotetsu groaned. "I will today. I just...it was hard to focus, hard to do much. Hell if you hadn't been there I may not have been able to clean up."

"Ah..." Barnaby blinked and nodded with a sigh. "I...see."

"Good."

"I will go with you to the police station later. I need to change first," Barnaby looked disgusted with himself. "I also must shower."

Kotetsu nodded. And then shook his head. "I don't need my hand held."

"Perhaps not, but there are a lot of matters in the city that the police find to be pressing. And I guarantee you from past observation, not a lot of it is actually pressing - lots of bailing high ranking officials out of trouble." Barnaby made a face. "Anyway, with me there, they'll have no choice but to take care of the robbery sooner rather than later."

"So, I need your presence to get anywhere."

"Please understand - I know you can talk to the police yourself." Barnaby obviously didn't believe that, which was annoying. "But I can help. I WANT to help. I have the day off so please just let me."

Kotetsu wanted to see him again that day, and that was why he decided to nod. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Barnaby using his place as a hero to help him get the robber solved, but he didn't like the suggestion he was incompetent...even if he withheld really important information by being an idiot. "Alright..."

"Good." Barnaby stood up, pulling on his coat. "I'll meet you at the bakery later."

"O-okay." Kotetsu just waved in defeat. He should have been happier than he was.

 

He wasn't even sure why he felt so defeated. Sure, he felt like an idiot for not sharing important info and having to go to the police with his friend. And he felt stressed and sad. But he was going to see his friend later, his friend who was willing to help him. His friend who was willing to do something for him.

Kotetsu tried to cheer himself up as he took care of some other food in the bakery. He had loaded up a truck there once he left the cafe, food that had been packaged and not opened that could go to individuals that needed it more. It was going to go to some shelters probably. He was glad he could at least help someone in need while dealing with things, but even as he saw the truck off he didn't feel much better. 

He wanted to see candies out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to see jars of jam and he even missed the creepy nurses that invaded his dreams from time to time as he waited for customers or cleaned up. He wanted to sit with Charlotte and make her feel wanted, not like a piece of junk, not a thrown away piece of toy, not someone who was as unwanted and past their prime as he was...

And he really was. He couldn't even keep track of a doll. Kotetsu felt a darkness trying to settle over him, and longing tugged at his chest as he felt displaced - no, Charlotte was displaced. Was he too? No, he couldn't be lost, only her...

Could he?

His head seemed to whirl with emotion, clouded, and he couldn't get a grip. It alarmed him and he found himself bracing his hands on the counter, trying to catch his breaths as they came rapidly. His head was spinning and he felt worried and even a little scared. 

Kotetsu thought maybe he was experiencing a panic attack. He couldn't remember ever having one and he didn't know what would cause it. The obvious answer was stress, but was it that simple? He was shaking all over the suddenly the lights in his bakery seemed too bright. The air was too cold too, but with a broken window he expected that. 

He did not feel good. He felt - he had to do something. Had to move, had to change - change? Yes. 

When he got Charlotte back - and with Barnaby helping, he would get her back - he wanted some sort of new arrangement to welcome her back, something different than the last memory of the place. He could trade one of the heavy tables for the spot a bread shelf was in - yes, perfect! A little change in display might even look nicer for the customers, the people he should be considering first.

Kotetsu moved the bread shelf easily - it was on wheels. He set it aside and took a moment to survey the spot. Maybe when they had gotten more done, he could get Barnaby to help him redecorate a bit. Wouldn't that be something! Ah, if only they could work side by side, and he could always have a sidekick or friend that would always be there for him. What a dream...

Well, time to move the table. He looked at it, shoulders sagging. He still felt shaky having not quite recovered from whatever that was he had felt before. He could probably move it on his own just fine but...

With smile he activated his powers, the blue glow enveloping him and making the shakiness vanish. He no longer felt depressed and upset. He still felt STUPID but he didn't count on that going away. 

Kotetsu grasped the table and lifted, not paying much attention to who might be outside. He was normally more vigilant. And as the door opened with his back to it, he felt his gut twist. It could only be one person coming in and seeing him, and he hadn't told him...

And Barnaby's voice sounded just as surprised as he thought it would: "YOU'RE A NEXT!?"


	13. 13

Both men stood outside the bakery, Barnaby with his arms in his pockets and Kotetsu with his arms crossed over himself, trying to stay warm while standing in the cold weather without his coat on. He shivered but kept his eyes on Barnaby, who merely glared back angrily.

They’d been quietly standing there for a few minutes, long enough that his powers wore off, and Kotetsu knew he had to speak up. “Um, so, I’m sorry Barnaby…I kinda never told you about this, I suppose…”

"You most certainly did not," Barnaby said slowly. He was so, so mad. Kotetsu could hear it in his voice.

"I’m sorry…" Kotetsu grasped his own shirt as he kept his arms over himself. "I thought I had reasons not to tell you, but I should have…" he said, his mind backtracking over every time he could have spoken up. He validated his reasons for staying quiet before, but the more he thought about it, the stupider he felt. He and Barnaby had the same power and Barnaby wasn’t going to tease him or persecute him. And they’d been opening up to each other so well… "I really should have."

"Why didn’t you, then?" Barnaby asked dryly.

"I just…was scared I guess…I dunno." He didn’t like opening up, ad his curent state of feeling sad and a little mixed up wasn’t helping. He wanted to see pretty wrapped candies dancing around Barnaby’s head, as crazy as it sounded. "But I mean, it’s not like I did something to you, right? It’s…I mean, it’s just something about me that…oh…"

Barnaby sighed, his eyes still narrowed. “You’re…right. There’s no reason for me to feel so angry. You didn’t exactly do anything….wrong.”

Oh, but he did. Kotetsu knew he did, just by the way Barnaby spoke. It was as simple as not telling him he had a power. Barnaby, he could tell, would have found one more thing to make him feel safe, connected, and happy as Kotetsu’s friend, and it was a major secret to hold back. “Eh…” What else was there to say, though? “Are we okay, then?”

Barnaby shrugged and walked toward him, or rather, toward the door. “It’s Hundred Power then?”

Kotetsu hadn’t said it was but he knew it was obvious to tell. “Yes. It’s the same as yours in every way.” God it made him feel even worse for not speaking up!

"And you have never done anything with it." Barnaby walked in the door, and Kotetsu followed. Even if the broken window left the bakery drafty it was still warmer in there.

Kotetsu shook his head. “Nope…”

"You’ve basically thrown it away." Barnaby stopped in front of the cake case, his back to Kotetsu. "You have an amazing power that could change a life - starting with yours - and you throw it away."

"I didn’t ask for it," Kotetsu said defensively. He didn’t like the way Barnaby was acting. On a personal level he understood him being upset he didn’t share his secret, but criticizing his path in life was a but much. "I didn’t want it. Barnaby, I don’t mean to diss it in frnt of you or anything, but it’s just not for me."

Barnaby acted like he didn’t even hear him. “You stand here making bread and cake all day instead of using it to save people. You could help people, but all you do is serve coffee and sugaary sweets.”

"Hey now."

"Kotetsu…" Barnaby turned around with a tired look. "I’m just not impressed. I thought higher of you then, well, this."

Something flared up in Kotetsu, and he felt like spewing forth anger and rage like a serpent from his mouth. Let it chomp away at Barnaby; how could he stand there and say those things? “Excuse me!? What gives you the right to say that? I’m allowed to make my own choices, and I am finally very happy with my bakery, something I’ve wanted since I was a child! I followed a dream and here I am! What the hell is wrong with that?”

"But your power-"

"So WHAT? Just because you’re born a certain way doesn’t mean that you don’t have choices in life!"

"But the choices you DID make-"

"Were the ones I wanted! Sounds like you were raised for one thing only since day 1 and didn’t even TRY to find out if anything was better for you! You let yourself be steered towards being a hero without even thinking about your other options, didn’t you?" he asked, snapping and practically growling. He was so mad. The bakery was his home…well it was Charlotte’s home…but it was dear to him!

He couldn’t help the small feeling of pleasure as Barnaby looked at him, eyes wide. Then he realized he looked hurt too and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He had really given him a what-for…but perhaps he hadn’t needed to go so far to make his point.

"Barnaby…I’m sorry. There’s nothing wrong with you being a hero."

"You’re right."

"I know. If that’s what you wanted-"

"No, no you’re right about the other stuff. I don’t even remember considering other paths. Its as if I was always pushed in this direction, though no one forced me into it. Maverick has been my guide but I did this myself…I didn’t try to live any other way, all because…"

"Yes?"

"…." Barnaby looked away again. "Nevermind."

"Ah."

"I’m sorry," Barnaby muttered and Kotetsu’s heart sank.

He was back to feeling bad, back to feeling like an utter asshole. “Ah, listen, Barnaby, I was harsh. I told you why I worked at the hospital and why I wanted to work here, it was the truth. I’m sure there’s been something that impacted you so much that you wanted to be a hero.” He was sure it was due to his parents’ death.

"You still made a good point, which is…somewhat surprising."

Kotetsu was completely insulted but decided not to show it. “I didn’t need to make it. I shouldn’t have turned it against you to defend myself.” He actually felt pretty smart saying that, though it didn’t erase feeling like a dick.

"I never did pursue anything else."

"Mmm…" Kotetsu looked around the bakery rather than at Barnaby. He couldn’t do anything else there and next they needed to get to the police station, but he couldn’t shake how uncomfortable things were feeling. He had an idea, though, and walked up to Barnaby. He touched his arm for his attention.

Barnaby looked back at him and didn’t move away. Kotetsu had expected him to, but since he didn’t, he didn’t take his hand away. He laid his hand against his arm, and doing so felt nice, it felt comforting. “Barnaby, when I have the window fixed and things back to normal, would you be interested in helping me here on a regular basis?”

"Working here!? I have a job, and I-"

"Not working here, exactly. Just helping. Volunteering, maybe, whenever you do have time. When you’re not on a call or doing paperwork." Or going on an interview, or working out…okay, the guy didn’t have much time, but he was still going to put forth the offer.

"I…but I’m still spending every minute researching my parents’ killer, and I don’t have time in general." Barnaby said it so firmly while looking conflicted.

Kotetsu smiled at him. “Well, when you need a break from researching, or have a day alone…or hell, an evening. I could stay a little later a night or two a week, at least, I’m sure Kaede wouldn’t mind too much, especially once she’s met you.”

"Ah, oh…"

"I can get you a red apron and sash to match my green and have it here for you anytime you want to some in. I can teach you how to do quick things that you might enjoy, and it’d be nice to have someone to test new recipes with."

Barnaby blinked. “And I’m sure it would be nice to have someone to help you since it’s hard to tend food and customers when alone.”

Kotetsu chuckled. “It is…but that’s not why I’m asking you, Barnaby. It ould be a good way to spend time together and show you something I really enjoy, that YOU might enjoy. Something you never planned on doing. Just think about it, okay?” He squeezed his arm and dropped his hand.

For a few seconds Barnaby just nodded silently, looking bewildered and almost uncomfortable. He had clearly not expected that offer. “You…it’s too bad you don’t want to be a hero…we have matching powers, we could be a team.”

Unexpected. But it was sweet, sweet as hell. “Unfortunately I don’t think teaching someone to be a hero is like teaching someone how to base ice a cake.” It was also not nearly as delicious, he was fairly sure.

Barnaby snorted. “I know that.”

"We could be a team here, you know…" he suggested, gazing at Barnaby. He hoped he wasn’t coming off too strong, too intense, but his emotions were swirling through his head. He still misssed Charlotte and couldn’t shake the pit of depression that remained where her presence should be. But he also felt kind of accomplished. He’d wanted to help someone, inspire someone through his bakery…

And he thought maybe he was giving Barnaby some kind of hope by making him that offer, or at the very least, by being his friend.

He still couldn’t believe Barnaby was his friend. He had been so cold, and seemingly a switch had been turned and Kotetsu could see the kind young man underneath the hairspray. He wasn’t totally sure Barnaby used hairspray, but…

"I suppose that’s…that’s…yea." Barnaby couldn’t find hiss words and Kotetsu repressed another chuckle just to keep smiling.

"Police station now?" he asked him. "And later we can compare Hundred Power notes, how’s that?"

Barnaby rolled his eyes, walked past Kotetsu, and acted like he was going to leave. Kotetsu started to follow, he just had to get his-

Barnaby grabbed his coat first, holding it awkardly at first, his grip on it tight. Then he held it out to Kotetsu. “Let’s go old man.”


	14. 14

The visit to the police station had been largely unproductive. Kotetsu shared what had happened with the girl who visited his bakery, but the woman he talked to didn't seem to think much of it. She didn't seem to think much of him, either. 

Then Barnaby, who had been waiting in another room, decided to waltz on in and all of the sudden she started taking notes. Kotetsu was frustrated Barnaby was right, that having him there got more accomplished.

They walked out of there after a little under an hour with little direction to go in. Kotetsu had gotten a call while there about his wndow, and in two days he'd be all set to get running again. Barnaby was happy for him, and Kotetsu knew he should be happy, but all he could think was 'what's the point without Charlotte?'

They lingered and made small talk before parting ways that evening. The whole time, Barnaby seemed like he was waiting for something, bu Kotetsu had no idea what. Unfortunately as Barnaby walked away he was obviously disappointed. Kotetsu didn't get it. 

He went home and focused on his daughter, on cooking her a nice meal and watching HeroTV with her. She didn't seem as annoyed as usual. Kotetsu guessed she felt bad for him having his bakery broken into. Hey, if that's what it took for her to hang around him without complaining he was boring, he could deal with it. He was just grateful to have her there. 

The next day he had no reason to go to the bakery, so he occupied his day with a lot of walking. Maybe, just maybe if he walked around he could spot Charlotte...somewhere. He walked by other bakeries but never got a certain vibe that she was there or even anywhere vaguely close. Where could she be? Where had that blonde come from? ...Would he ever get answers?

Walking around didn't get him anything at all, so he went home to clean up a little before sitting down with a beer. Kaede would lecture him when she got home, but he'd deal with it. He was allowed to have a beer after a rough couple of days, right? He wasn't going to get drunk. He was just bored and depressed. 

Kaede did lecture him as soon as she got home, but she made it short, and even brought him some water. He knew that again, she did it out of pity, but he appreciated it.He drank the water, made them dinner, and talked to Kaede about her day. She didn't say much but it was still nice to talk.

They watched HeroTV - and that day, Barnaby was on it, saving people and putting a smile on both Kotetsu's face and his daughter's. It felt good. Kotetsu liked watching his friend do well...finally there was good reason for him to watch the show. He didn't even mind watching Barnaby do an interview, though he needed Kaede to move when she drew too close to the television and blocked his view. 

"Another heroic act by Barnaby!" the reporter on the screen said, all smiles as he stood next to Barnaby. " How's it feel?" he asked, shoving the microphone in Barnaby's face. 

"Well, it feels good. It always does. It's not why I do it, though," Barnaby said, looking proud of himself. 

"It's not?" the reporter asked as if that was some huge surprise. 

"No. I do it to save other people. Even if it didn't feel good, I would still do it." Barnaby's answer made Kotetsu roll his eyes, just because it sounded so ridiculously humble. 

"Haha, that's our hero for you! So, Barnaby, anything you want to say to the viewers tonight? Maybe a little something to those kids out there who dream about helping people, who want to be a hero?"

Barnaby looked like he was going to say no, or at least say something cheap and dismissive. But he hesitated, a serious look on his face as he actually leaned towards the microphone. "I guess I do have something to say. It feels good, to be a hero, but there's other ways to help people. I like doing it this way, but it's not the only way. Do what feels right to you, not to someone else. Remember, sometimes you can help someone with just a kind word."

Kotetsu's mouth dropped open.

The reporter looked surprised and at kind of a loss. That wasn't in their mental script, now was it? Barnaby was expected not to say much, or to say something about how being a hero was great. He wasn't supposed to say something so...smart...at least not in a on-scene interview. 

But he did, and he walked away while the reporter was still standing in shock. 

Kotetsu was so touched that he wanted to cry. He was so happy he could overlook Kaede's obnoxious amount of swooning - he was almost doing it himself!

\---

He slept well that night. No nightmares, and he was sure he owed it to bonding with Kaede over staring at Barnaby. That was kind of a scary thing to realize...but whatever! Things would probably change when he introduced them and Kaede realized he was a real person and not someone on a shiny screen for her just to drool over.

Barnaby did run a slight risk of becoming 'uncool' by being her father's friend, but Kotetsu had an even greater chance of the friendship making him cool. If only he had Charlotte then everything would be so beyond perfect!

It was with that thought that he lounged in bed that morning, not needing to get up once again for the bakery. He heaard Kaede get up and heard her getting ready. He would go out and see her soon. He was feeling happy as he laid there warm and comfortable in his blankets so he wante to stretch the feeling out.

As he was finally sitting up he thought he heard a knock at a door...not his bedroom door. It had to be the apartment door, but who would be by so early? Wait - Barnaby!

With a grin Kotetsu sprang out of bed and started pulling on pants. Barnaby! What a welcome sight he would be first thing in the morning! He searched for a shirt, waiting for Kaede's excited squeal when she realized Barnaby was standing at their door. He waited and waited, pulling on his shirt - was she surprised into silence? No! Maybe they didn't know he was awake and planned to surprise him!

How exciting!

He was practically vibrating with excitement when he opened the door and burst out -

To see Kaede holding Charlotte and wearing a confused look. "Uh, dad, there was a...this was at the door."

"CHARLOTTE!?" To say he had mixed feelings was accurate. Boy was he happy to see her! But...he almost wished he had seen Barnaby instead... He knelt down in front of Kaede and the doll.

"Um, dad..why did a cat drop off a doll and why are you calling it Charlotte?"

Time to come clean. "Uh, you see, this doll was the only thing taken from my bakery. The criminal broke in and only took her, I guess she's rare...I found her there when I bought the building and I...liked...her...wait, a cat?" he asked, blinking in delayed response. 

"I think so anyway. Something tapped the door and when I opened it this white furry thing with a fluffy tail was walking away. The ears were kinda pointy. Anyway why did you keep this doll? It's...realy creepy. The head looks like candy and the eyes look...blank..."

He felt a surge of overprotectiveness, all for his doll. "I liked her! And it felt like the bakery was her home - haven't you ever felt like one of your toys belonged somewhere?"

"We're both too old for toys!" Kaede said, folding her arms over her chest.

"That depends on who you talk to! But come on, answer me!"

She looked at the ceiling and her lips moved - was she actually COUNTING? When she finished she looked back at him. "Yes. When I was little. My stuffed animals lived on the bed and I got upset if they stayed in the living room overnight, okay?"

"Awww." He chuckled. 

"Dad you shouldn't have toys! And especially some sort of collectible someone would break into your bakery over!" she said, her voice raised.

His chuckled stopped right away. "Kaede, come on! It's a doll. Little cafes and bakeries have things like this all the time for decor and mood anyway, so what's the big deal? Would it be better if I tried to display a motorcycle or something in there?" He gave Charlotte a fond pat on the head. He was so happy to have her there - and WOW did he want to make cupcakes!

"Motorcycle - DAD! It's not about you having a girly thing, but a kid thing!"

He frowned, not sure he really followed. Sure, he got that she didn't like sseeing her dad act like a giant kid, but he wasn't actively playing with Charlotte, he just liked having her! "Well Kaede, I like her, customers like her, and the only one judging me is you," he snapped at her. "Sorry she bothers you, but I like her. But don't worry, she'll be back at her home in the bakery." She didn't feel quite right in his apartment. 

Kaede stared at him, looking conflicted. And then she just walked away to finish getting ready for school, and to sulk. Kotetsu picked Charlotte up and went to the couch. He had no more to say to Kaede at the moment. She was old enough to learn on her own that it wa stupid to be mad at someone over a DOLL. She was a smarter and nicer kid than that anyway. 

He couldn't let her attitude kill his joy, even if she was his daughter. 

She barely said bye as she left, and Kotetsu went to get his phone. He was still elated and so he texted Barnaby: 'Charlotte's back! Come to my apartment later and make cupcakes with me!' He knew it sounded dorky, but he smiled and his send instead. 

Maybe Kaede would feel better if she came home from school to Barnaby offering her sweets.


	15. 15

Barnaby didn't show up that day. He did text back explaining he had a very full schedule and would not be able to do something as leisurely as bake cupcakes. He sounded so cold and strict over text and it bothered Kotetsu at first, but, luckily he had his distraction.

Charlotte sat neatly on the couch. She looked as happy as he felt! Something was off, of course, with her not being in the bakery, but she was still pleased to be back. His head felt a bit 'full', on the verge of hurting but not. He knew it was her. He didn't blame her. She'd been through quite a bit.

It took Kotetsu a couple of hours to clear up his mind enough to stop sitting near her, pacing the kitchen, and looking at her. He found his phone and decided to call the police. Having his doll returned was a big deal. He had the name of the woman he had talked to before written down (Barnaby's idea). He asked for her, and when she answered she didn't sound that interested.

Then she sounded annoyed. She gave him a lecture for handling Charlotte and not bringing her in and for not looking for the person who dropped her off, and really why was he calling since it wasn't an emergency anyway? They were still looking to see who had perpetrated the crime and she had other things to do, so she hung up on him eventually. He was barely able to get a word in.

Should he have touched Charlotte? He wasn't sure it mattered, but he didn't know how police and investigative stuff worked. Whatever, she was back, soon she would go to the bakery again, and all would be great. Jams and icing would dance in his vision again.

When Kaede got home she gave him a worried look, then a downright ugly look directed at Charlotte. "I don't like that doll, dad, she seems...up to something," Kaede commented as she searched in her bag for her notebook from school.

"Charlotte? Up to something? Ha! If anything, she is happy," he said, trying to reassure her.

Kaede shook her head and sighed. "If that doll is giving me any vibes...it's like you're being used."

"USED? Geez! You accuse me of playing with her, but here you are with the imagination!" Kotetsu teased, lovingly. "Charlotte wouldn't use me, if she were real."

"You're too nice, Dad." Kaede retrieved her book and headed for her bedroom. "If you had any friends, I'd be worried about them using you." She disappeared into her room.

Kotetsu scratched his head and frowned, not sure whether he felt hurt and pathetic, or touched by her worry. He decided thinking about it made him too upset, and he'd much rather watch a cooking show with Charlotte.

\----

The nightmares came back. They came back in full force. Kotetsu was running through half his dreams, running from a black snake being with a white clown face. It had big teeth, and it wanted to eat him, chasing him and eating cream cakes, turnovers, and brownies along the way. At one point Kotetsu could even see himself running through some sort of a board, a screen, and he realized for a second he was watching what looked ridiculously like a Pac-man game.

Then he was back in it, in the hospital, curled up with despair. Charlotte was there and he started to use her for comfort, until Barnaby entered the scene. Then Kotetsu reached for him, and Barnaby was walking closer and closer. He was looking at Kotetsu and seemed eager to get to him, his lips moving to say his name even as he could not hear Barnaby's voice.

Barnaby was so close. Kotetsu could almost feel his warmth. He craved it, so happy to have his friend there.

Then the snake, the serpent, whatever it was came out of nowhere. It didn't crash in, it was just there, mouth open, teeth shining, and going right for Barnaby's pretty blonde head....Kotetsu screamed.

And he woke up to Kaede shaking him. She was yelling and looked panicked as she shook him, and Kotetsu was so surprised he couldn't make a sound.

"Dad! Dad!"

"H-honey!?"

She stopped shaking him but clutched the blankets that covered him, her hands shaking. "Dad are you okay!? You were screaming so loud!"

"I...I was?" he asked, eyes shooting wide open. He hadn't been aware...he was scared and screaming in the dream, but he didn't know he was doing that out loud! How embarrassing...and he felt bad for scaring Kaede, too. He was sweating, he realized, and trembling slightly himself.

And he felt uneasy as hell.

"You were...Dad, what were you dreaming about?" She was calming down, obviously aware it really was just a bad dream by then.

"I..." He couldn't really mention Barnaby. "I was being chased by a serpent, then I was in a hospital and there was someone I knew there, someone I was happy to see, and they got eaten by the serpent." He shuddered, flashes coming back bit by bit, Barnaby's head in the thing's jaws.

"A...serpent?" She probably expected something more tramautic than a dreamed up monster.

"Uh huh, I guess. I don't really know what to call it, but it was freaky."

"Oh." She let go of his blankets. "It must have been really scary. I've never - I've never heard you scream in your sleep, only the crying but I'm used to that."

"Well - wait, crying?" he asked, blinking. His bedside lamp was on, and thankfully it was not too bright to bother his eyes in the otherwise dark room.

She nodded slowly. "Sometimes you cry in your sleep. It used to worry me. But I think, maybe sometimes you dream about mom because I hear her name."

That was news to him, though he knew he had dreamt about Tomoe at times. He thought they were always happy. "I never smiled?"

"I listened, I can't see through your door or in the dark."

"Ah." He chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I guess I forgot for a second."

He saw her roll her eyes, but she didn't seem annoyed. "You laugh a little sometimes too, and one time I heard you say 'donuturnover'."

Kotetsu whistled. "Now that's an idea..."

"Dad." Kaede commanded his attention. "Do you ever cry in here when you're...you know...awake?"

He hadn't since buying the bakery, so he shook his head. "No, I'm okay."

"Well...I get worried about you being alone. If you had company here maybe you wouldn't have sad or scary dreams," she muttered, and looked away. Ah, teenage girls, why did they embarrass so easily when showing they cared for someone?

Kotetsu smiled. "Well, maybe, but I need to make some friends before that, right?"

She looked at him suddenly - looking like a caught criminal, a deer in the headlights. "Dad! I'm sorry I said-"

He reached for her and squeezed her arm. "It's alright sweetheart. It's okay. I'm happy you came in to check on me."

Again, she turned away. "I...you were screaming, Dad, kind of had to come in."

"Well." He took her hand and kissed it much to her protests, gazing at his daughter through his tired eyes. "Thank you for doing it anyway."

\-------

He didn't sleep well at all once Kaede left, but stayed in bed per her orders as she decided to go back to sleep herself. With a mild shock he realized it was the weekend - so she had no school. Well, that guaranteed he wouldn't see Barnaby that day, but he couldn't be too sad. He could spend the day with his daughter instead!

It didn't work out that way.

She was there when he woke up and made breakfast, and they watched some morning cartoons together, but then she announced she was leaving. She had plans that day with a friend and her mom, and she had told him three days ago, didn't he listen? But he could be forgiven for forgetting due to stress.

So, she left. Kotetsu let her, not about to spoil her plans for the day even if it left him feeling down. He missed doing things with her. He supposed he could go see about the bakery window and if he could open the following day. Did they even install windows on weekends? He hoped so. He needed to get into the freezer before things stuck too much and get other items going in rotation again.

Still, an hour after Kaede left, he only managed to sit on the couch with Charlotte while going over some papers and orders he had made for his bakery. He'd been over them before, but sometimes re-reading his orders when he was anxious gave him a bizarre sense of peace.

Since that pretty much classified as 'work', he didn't know why it helped at all.

There was a knock at his door, and Kotetsu tiredly pulled himself up. It was probably a police officer or someone coming to talk to him about the bakery. Maybe he would get to baking some stuff later that evening after all so he could open bright and early as usual. That would be nice.

He opened the door, and much to his surprise, there was Barnaby. He was dressed in his warm red coat, cheeks a little flushed and hair a little wind-tossed. He looked like he didn't know what he was doing there.

Kotetsu thought it was odd too, but he was happy. "Barnaby!" he yelled happily, and before the other man could stop him Kotetsu had already moved forward and wrapped his arms around the young hero in a big hug. "I'm so happy to see you!" he said, wishing Barnaby would hug him back. He didn't, so Kotetsu gave up and let go. He stepped back to allow his friend inside.

Barnaby was even redder, which was curious, but he came in. "H-hello." He just stood there awkwardly.

"Hi..." Kotetsu scratched his beard. "Uh, everything okay? I didn't expect you, though I sure am happy to see you!" he said, wanting to hug him again.

Barnaby perked up. "You are?"

"Of course!" Kotetsu laughed. "Take off your shoes, take off your coat, and please make yourelf comfortable! Is everything okay, though?"

"I don't know, is it?" Barnaby asked, giving him an odd look. "I just felt like I should come by, like something might be wrong...ah." Kotetsu saw his eyes fix on something and he turned to follow his gaze.

Charlotte. Barnaby was staring at Charlotte. No, not staring - when Kotetsu turned back his eyes had hardened into a full glare. "Um, Barnaby? She's just a doll. I know you don't like her but come on."

"You should sell her." Barnaby leaned down and started unlacing his boots. "You should just get rid of her, Kotetsu, she's only going to bring more misfortune."

"Uh, okay. Anyway I'm fine as you can see, so do you want to do something?" He felt uncomfortable hearing Barnaby talk that way.

Barnaby nodded, looking down still as he dealt with his boots. "Yes. You invited me yesterday."

"Oh, er, yea. But we can do something else, you know, I mean..."

Barnaby shook his head and was silent until he finished getting off his boots. It bother worried Kotetsu and made him eager - if they didn't bake maybe they could talk...maybe pour some wine, sit around, order a nice dinner...

Barnaby straightened up and studied Kotetsu. Then, amazingly, he took his hand and pulled it as he walked by him. "Let's go make cupcakes," he said softly, and Kotetsu almost tripped over his own feet as he let himself be tugged along.


	16. 16

Barnaby had dragged Kotetsu into his own kitchen before hastily dropping his hand and looking around, obviously having no real clue where to start. Kotetsu didn't even remember bringing him in there, so Barnaby wouldn't even know where to find basic utensils like spoons. It was cute, watching Barnaby charge in only to get lost, and while Kotetsu wasn't sure that should make him giggle - it did, and he earned a little glare.

Before too long, though, he had them making some cupcakes that he knew would be perfect. They were to be yellow with a lemon filling and whipped lemon icing, and he would slice up some strawberries to go on top when they were finished. There was no question they would bake up beautifully. Barnaby followed his directions so well and carefully, possibly better than Kotetsu himself.

That didn't make him a better baker. Not by a long shot!

It did leave Kotetsu proud, though. He enjoyed sitting back and giving the instructions and just watching Barnaby's every move. He had tried to mix ingredients at the same time as Barnaby but found that didn't really work. He was messier, Barnaby wasn't, and Barnaby preferred doing the actual work himself without another person totally in his space.

It was better that Kotetsu just gave directions, and once he started doing that things went smoothly. He even saw Barnaby smile as he slowly distributed the batter into the green cupcake holders.

"These are going to be delicious!" Kotetsu said, eager for his first taste.

"Are you sure?" Barnaby asked, pausing after filling a cup. "It's my first time making...cupcakes."

"Never made them as a kid?"

"I don't remember."

"Well, these will be good. I can tell, Barnaby, you're a natural! You measure everything so well, even mix it and...ah, you'll see!" he said, knowing he was practically glowing. He turned on the oven as he spoke so it could preheat.

Barnaby was blushing up a storm. "You don't know they'll be good, there's always trial and error, and so-"

"Shush. Stop being so technical or whatever." Kotetsu waltzed over to the bowl, dipped his finger in MUCH to Barnaby's protest, and licked the batter off. "Mmmm!"

Barnaby wrinkled his nose. "That's so gross! Kotetsu, you've tainted the batter! Don't you know what could be on your hands?"

Kotetsu wiggled his fingers at Barnaby in what he hoped was a menacing way. "Bacteriaaaaaaaa."

Barnaby backed away. "Yes! Germs! I know you washed your hands before we started, but still!"

"D'ya think I'm gross, Barnaby?"

"...No," Barnaby answered, very quietly. "Not at all, not one bit."

"Then do you really think anything will come of me putting some batter on my finger? Hey - you do it!"

"Ugh, no!" Barnaby shook his head, his curls bouncing with the motion. "No, I will pass. I will taste them cooked. There's uncooked egg in this, you know. That is unhealthy." Barnaby began to fill the rest of the cupcakes just as carefully as before.

Kotetsu just shrugged. The amount of raw batter and cookie dough he had eaten was downright unreal, and he was fine! Could uncooked egg be behind his nightmares? Nah, he didn't think so.

He watched Barnaby finish up and then popped the tray into the oven to start baking. Barnaby immediately started on the dishes, which was a relief to Kotetsu. He hated doing dishes, and he did a lot of them at the bakery. At least THERE he had a pan washer for his bigger items.

"We can make icing now!" he told Barnaby.

Barnaby looked over his shoulder from where he was standing at the sink. "We need to clean up more. It's just a few dishes and wiping the counters, Kotetsu, it's worth it to clean up now."

"Er...I wasn't protesting that," Kotetsu said with a weak laugh. He'd come off pretty badly right there, hadn't he? Why should he be worried about that, though? He shook his head. "I meant now as in...next."

"Oh...so, lemon icing?"

"Yes!" Kotetsu gathered up a few utensils and grabbed a dishrag for wiping the counters. "A whipped icing, nice and light as opposed to heavy and buttery or gritty. With light lemon flavoring it will be perfect!"

Barnaby looked at him, stared, and then shook his head.

Kotetsu paused in wiping own the counter. "What?"

Barnaby stared some more, and the smiled. "You're inspiring, Kotetsu. I love how...uh...how happy you are about the icing."

Kotetsu turned red. "Oh. Thanks?"

"It is a compliment."

"Oh!" Kotetsu brightened. "Great!" He stood next to Barnaby and rinsed out the rag. "I'm glad you think that, honestly..."

"Did you think I would disapprove?"

Kotetsu shrugged. "Well, I mean, some people can find enthusiasm annoying."

"To be honest, usually I do in other people. But, they are not you." Barnaby shut off the water and backed away from the sink, turning to the oven. He bent down slightly to look in at the baking cupcakes.

"Ah..." Kotetsu could only laugh nervously.

Barnaby continued to look at the cupcakes and Kotetsu intensely studied the counter. He wasn' t entirely sure what to make of Barnaby's words and actions. He wass getting awful close awful fast, and Kotetsu wanted it...but now that it was actually happening, he wondered if he should slow it down or...or something. Cold feet was what he was getting and he hated it since he'd wanted to be so close to someone for so long, and he had a gut feeling he was going to end up getting a little cuddly with his friend later on.

But should he really worry about it...? Maybe that was stupid and he should just keep wanting the closeness, and enjoying every moment of it.

"Ah so...we'll make the icing in a few minutes then. While these bake, would you like tea? Or hot chocolate...? We can go watch TV too, if you want, anything you want to do," Kotetsu offered. He'd rather not stand awkwardly in the kitchen the whole time the cupcakes baked and he icing, he realized, would barely take any time at all.

"Oh." Barnaby turned around. "Just a glass of milk will do."

"Milk..."

"I usually only have it before bed, when I'm getting comfortable and trying to settle down."

"I see." Kotetsu shrugged and turned to the fridge. He pulled out the milk and a beer for himself. "Milk it is then!"

"We can watch the television I guess...you're having beer? This early in the day?" Barnaby gave the bottle a very skeptical look.

It was a little early, but they were just making cupcakes and he didn't plan on driving anywhere, so why did it matter? "Sure. Just to relax, like you with your milk," he said as he poured a glass. "I'm not going to get drunk or anything, it's just nice."

"Really?" Barnaby studied the bottle. "It looks cheap."

"Here's your milk, alright!?" Kotetsu said, shoving it at him. Who was Barnaby to criticize his taste in beer!? Yes, it was cheap, but he still liked it!

Barnaby took it with a frown, no doubt annoyed that Kotetsu had almost spilled a little bit of it. "Fine, fine! Drink your beer, what do I care anyway?" he grumbled and started walking out of the kitchen, casually, as if he lived there!

Well the guy might think he owned every room he was in, but that wasn't the case at Kotetsu's apartment, so he hurried behind him, eager to get to the tv and choose the channel because it was HIS tv.

He almost ran into Barnaby's back.

"Does that have to be here?" He pointed at Charlotte, who was still on the couch.

"Yes. I like her."

Barnaby shivered. "She seriously is disturbing right now...something very creepy about...Kotetsu can you move her?"

It was his place so he wasn't moving anything, especially Charlotte! "No, the doll stays. I'll sit next to her, and you sit next to me."

"But-"

"No buts. She's out here or in my room at night, until I can bring her safely back to the bakery."

"Don't like her one bit," Barnaby mumbled, but he sat down on the opposite end of the couch while Kotetsu sat between him and the doll.

It was awkward, at first. He didn't know what to watch and had trouble concentrating - a LOT of trouble concentratng. He couldn't stop thinking about the cupcakes and how great they would taste, and how Barnaby was being bossy and how he should leave...leave? Where had that come from? That was the very last thing Kotetsu wanted, and ultimately why he let Barnaby pick the channel anyway. The younger man settled on a documentary about parasites which was disgusting, to say the least.

Too bad Barnaby seemed fascinated, especially in regards to ones in the brain. Yech.

"You like this stuff?" Kotetsu finally asked.

"It's...gross, but it is interesting. Something else to know and be aware of, and why I always cook my food properly."

"Right. You know the cupcakes won't have any parasites, right?" Kotetsu asked, half joking.

"I know, I know. But about that raw egg..." Barnaby looked like he was going to smile, but he frowned and sipped his milk. "My head hurts."

"Really? Awww." Kotetsu frowned too. He didn't like that. "Want me to get you-"

"-Some pills? No, not quite, I take enough just to sleep that I'd like to avoid taking much more during the day." Barnaby glanced at the doll, and then back at Kotetsu. "Plus somehow...the idea of medicine seems even more sickening right now. I will just rest," Barnaby said, and leaned back.

Poor guy. Kotetsu really wanted to help...so, he threw caution to the wind and reached out. Two fingers found Barnaby's freakishly soft forehead and started to rub in careful circles. He saw Barnaby's eyes fly open in surprise, and Barnaby reached for his hand...

...Only to move it a couple of inches. "Here," he said, letting go of Kotetsu's hand. "That's where it hurts," he said softly and closed his eyes.

Kotetsu continued to rub, and he felt, for a second, like a...like a nurse? A doctor? No, not a doctor, definitely more of a nurse. It was strange, he felt dizzy, felt like maaaaybe he shouldn't do what he was doing, but Barnaby's skin felt so nice under his fingertips, and he remembered rubbing away Tomoe's headaches when she felt under the weather.

He also did it when she was in the hospital.

A wave of depression hit him hard and he felt like some force was trying to discourage him, but he was hellbent on rubbing that headache away, not minding as Barnaby's head slowly nodded to the side and rested on his shoulder. Kotetsu did not mind that at all...

And then the timer went off on the oven, a soft but very persistent beeping to tell them their cupcakes were done. Kotetsu relunctantly lowered his hand. "Well, time's up Barnaby, we better get our cupcakes and go make our icing while they are cooling off."

"Mmmm...." Barnaby moved his head just a smidge and...that was it. Was he asleep?

"Barnaby...?"

"I heard you," came his groggy voice. "I'm...my head just feels so heavy and it seems...dark."

"Huh?" Kotetsu stood up slowly, watching Barnaby straighten himself since he didn't have that shoulder to rest on. "You sure I can't give you something?"

"I don't...want anything. Can we make the frosting later?" Barnaby asked, starting to stretch out and lay down on the couch. His foot kicked Charlotte briefly and Kotetsu couldn't help a brief flare of...was that anger? It ran through him so quicly he couldn't identify it.

Icing didn't take long to make and it wouldn't hurt the cupcakes to cool longer. "Oh, sure, but I'm kind of worried about you."

Barnaby was curling up, almost in a fetal position. "Is it okay if I sleep?"

"Perfectly fine."

"Will you rub my head some more?" Barnaby asked after a small pause.

Kotetsu smiled. "Sure. Let me go get those cupcakes, alright?" he asked. "Then I'll come back and stay until you feel better."

"Thanks," Barnaby uttered weakly.

Kotetsu was worried about him, though he figured Barnaby likely had nightmares the night before and just couldn't sleep, so after being active, he was crashing. He would be okay after a nap. It was just exhaustion.

He hoped it was that simple.


	17. 17

Kotetsu wound up sitting on the floor for a couple of hours. He rubbed his friend's head until he fell asleep, and then just sat down watching a talk show hosted by a therapist. The topic had to do with insane in-laws, and setting things on fire in anger. It was halfway amusing. After that an upbeat talk show interviewing the latest and hottest actors came on and Kotetsu found himself yawning halfway through. He couldn't imagine being a hot young hero like Barnaby and having to appear on those things. 

“Movie looks dull,” Barnaby mumbled from behind Kotetsu right after a clip for an upcoming rom-com was streamed on the show. 

Kotetsu looked over his shoulder and right into Barnaby's half-opened, sleepy green eyes. “Welcome back to the world of the living, Barnaby.”

“I only napped,” Barnaby said, picking himself up slowly, yawning and stretching his strong legs and arms. 

“Yea, yea.” Kotetsu turned more of his body to face him. “You feel better at least?”

“Still sleepy, I guess, but I don't feel as...as dark as I did before.”

Dark? Kotetsu had thought earlier he had simply meant it in the sense he was closing his eyes, light dimming. But feeling dark meant sad, or angry, didn't it? He started to inquire but Barnaby was sitting up. 

“I feel up to icing the cupcakes now, if we may still do that today.”

“Sure.” Kotetsu nodded. His daughter would be home any second, so she and Barnaby could meet. He was glad Barnaby woke before she arrived home. Kotetsu began to push himself to his feet. “Come help me make it, then,” he said, extending a hand to Barnaby to pull him off the couch. He couldn't help feeling amazed and slightly jealous at how Barnaby's hair hadn't gone to hell while sleeping. 

Barnaby took his hand and stood up, not releasing him right away. “I've never made icing.”

“It's easy.” Kotetsu smiled. “You'll like it.”

He and Barnaby made their way into the kitchen where the cupcakes were cooled and looked downright perfect. Kotetsu usually produced nice cupcakes, but Barnaby's careful mixing and attention to detail made them look better than usual. With him at his side at the bakery, Kotetsu could only imagine how amazing everything would look. The presentation would be flawless. Kotetsu understood how to make things look good, he understood presentation, but he was not very skilled at it. 

They mixed the icing quickly, once again with Kotetsu giving the directions and Barnaby following. Kotetsu could see the consistency of the icing was right on and he showed Barnaby the best way to fold down a big icing bag and scoop it in – after selecting the correct tip for piping the frosting on. 

“Will you show me how to use other tips?” Barnaby asked, looking at the small selection Kotetsu kept at home in a little drawer. 

“Sure, eventually. I can teach you at the bakery with cakes, sometime,” Kotetsu suggested, touched that Barnaby wanted to be taught more. He hoped he got the chance. 

“So...how do I do this?” Barnaby asked, holding the full bag of frosting.

“Oh, super easy!” Kotetsu took it from him, holding the bag by the middle as it bulged with frosting on each side of his hand. “Sometimes people hold it different, so do it however it works for you. Anyway, you really just squeeze. I like to go in a little circular motion and pull the bag up, so I get around the edges, middle, and kinda pile it on in a swirl...” He spoke the words as he did the motion, carefully building the frosting on top of the little cupcake until it ended in a neat little tip. “It's that easy! Oh...” He squeezed a little onto his finger and offered the bag to Barnaby. “Try it too, it's good!” He licked the frosting off his finger. It was so damn good!

Barnaby watched him closely before putting a little on his own finger and licking it off. He blinked, looked at his finger, put a little more icing on it, and had a second taste. “This is so good!”

“Uh-huh.” Kotetsu laughed. 

“I did not taste it as we made it since I am sure you know what you're doing...I wish I had tasted it sooner,” Barnaby said, turning on the faucet to rinse his finger. 

“Ha! Well, I'm glad you trusted the baker with the icing...” Kotetsu beamed at him and selected a cupcake, sliding it across the counter. “Go ahead.”

Barnaby held the bag a bit shakily at first. He didn't have an even circle as he put on the icing, a little lopsided on once side. But it got better even as he piled on the icing and ended in a slightly less nice tip than Kotetsu's.

“Looks good,” Kotetsu said, examining it. He looked at Barnaby and was surprised to see him looking a little bothered. “What's wrong?”

“It's...that one side, that droops.” 

“...It's your first cupcake!” Kotetsu shook his head and pushed another one at him. “Come on, try again.” Barnaby was worried about not doing his first cupcake perfectly? The brave, charismatic, amazing hero was sad because his cupcake didn't come out like he'd been icing the thing for years? What a silly man!

Barnaby stared at the cupcake and then tried again, his movements a little more controlled but still not as practiced as Kotetsu's. The icing job again came out lovely, just not perfect. And as such, Barnaby looked discouraged. 

“Ah, come on Barnaby!” Kotetsu reached for that first cupcake Barnaby did, wiping off some of the excess with his finger and licking it off. “It's okay to make it a little uneven! I get to eat the extra!” he said with a grin. 

“As if you need more sugar.”

“Hey!”

Barnaby said nothing more and tried another cupcake. It came out even more lopsided than the first and Barnaby set down the bag, taking a deep breath. “I'm alright. I'm not stopping,” he said with forced calmness.

“Barnaby...” Kotetsu didn't want it to become stressful, but he didn't offer to take over. He didn't want to make Barnaby feel worse.

“It's fine, I'll try again.” Barnaby reached for the cupcake and wiped off the excess glob with his finger. He held it out towards Kotetsu. “Here.”

Kotetsu blinked. “Eh?”

Barnaby reached closer, brushing the icing against Kotetsu's lips just barely. “I- here, have some more icing.”

“Are you-”

“Just eat it!”

Kotetsu still paused, but he parted his lips and leaned forward just slightly as Barnaby gently pushed the frosting into his mouth. He barely tasted Barnaby's finger before he withdrew, looking shocked at himself. 

Barnaby stood there, looking at his finger with his eyes ridiculously wide. “I...I...sorry I....”

What was the right way to act in that situation? The flirting was no longer subtle in any way. Kotetsu was interested. That was bad. He didn't really have friends, and now that he had one, he shouldn't just turn around and try to date him. Except, Barnaby was the one trying, and Kotetsu was just not biting, not really until he ate the icing off his finger. 

Relationships sure were complicated. He hadn't opened a bakery looking for love, that was for sure. 

That didn't mean he should just reject it, either, and he couldn't really bring himself to turn away Barnaby, now could he? He liked him after all. 

Kotetsu selected another cupcake and slowly steered it in Barnaby's direction. “...Try again.”

Barnaby stared at him in disbelief but he looked at the cupcake, took it, and tried again. 

No lopsided frosting that time, but the next time, there was plenty, and Kotetsu received another offer. Not a word was spoken as Barnaby's finger dipped into his mouth carefully before lingering longer than before. Kotetsu met Barnaby's gaze and they looked a each other nervously, but happily. 

The next time, it was Kotetsu's turn to offer icing, and he did it a little less gracefully, and it was a little weird to have Barnaby lick his finger. But he also wanted him to do it again. He couldn't help a small laugh when his finger slipped out, and Barnaby smiled too, blushing as he looked away. 

What were they, fifteen year-olds? 

Kotetsu iced a few more cupcakes, and Barnaby finished the rest, sadly without anymore lopsided incidents. Perhaps that was for the best though, Kaede would be back soon and they didn't need to be quickly licking each other's fingers. 

Upon completion Kotetsu took the icing bag so that he could take of what remained and...eat it, or something. It wasn't much. He held onto it first as he surveyed the cupcakes before them. “Looks great,” he said. And really, they did! They could get away with selling them at the store, anyway, in the four and six-packs. They weren't of the decadent variety, but that wouldn't take long to teach Barnaby. 

“I got better at the icing,” Barnaby said, and he looked a little proud of himself. It was strange to see, because Barnaby had been so unsure and Kotetsu had gotten he vibe he was confident he would excel at everything he tried. How wrong he was! There was still a young man there open to learning something he never thought he'd learn, something that was so off his chosen path that it led to some form of anxiety. 

“Ya did good, Barnaby. I can't wait to show you more, as soon as I get the chance.”

“I'd like that. It seems like icing cupcakes might be a good way to end a stressful day...”

Kotetsu nodded. “It can be. Base icing on a cake can seem monotonous, at times, but you might like that along with perfecting blossoms and-oops!” Kotetsu had gone to set the icing bag down and pressed it so firmly that a glob of icing shot out and landed on part of his collar and bare neck. “Oh, dammit, I wish I was in my baking clothes,” Kotetsu said with a small laugh and peered down at the icing. “Ah...can you get me a clean dish towel from that drawer...” He pointed at one next to the sink. “Wet it and I can clean this off.”

Barnaby was staring at where the icing landed, and he rolled his eyes. “Messy,” he hissed, and moved to the drawer that Kotetsu had indicated. He opened it and selected a thin orange towel, ran a small section under the faucet, and stepped closer to Kotetsu.

Instead of handing him the towel, he started wiping the icing off his collar. Kotetsu swallowed as Barnaby used the excuse to move closer and closer, taking longer than he needed to. There was no way a glob of frosting took that many slow and careful wipes to remove. Kotetsu was familiar with getting frosting all over himself. 

Then Barnany set the towel on the counter and Kotetsu received a quick glance as warning before he leaned in. He felt Barnaby's mouth on his neck and gasped suddenly, surprised. Yea, they'd been licking each other's fingers, but Barnaby's tongue and breath on the skin of his neck and the light brush of his nose – it was almost too much.

“Ba-Barnaby,” he whispered, but he didn't stop him. It didn't feel bad. 

Barnaby snapped back like he'd been caught in the act of stealing. “I'm sorry, I...I got carried away and I...tastes so good,” he said, the words tumbling out of his mouth fast and almost too jumbled for Kotetsu to understand. 

He didn't like that so he placed a finger on Barnaby's lips to shush him. It worked immediately and Barnaby stopped talking, though there was real fear in his eyes. Why? Did he think Kotetsu would choose that time to reject him? Barnaby had a lot ahead of him, why would he be so worried about someone like Kotetsu letting him down? ...Why did he choose Kotetsu?

“It's okay,” Kotetsu said, because he wasn't going to voice all his thoughts, and it really was okay. He wasn't mad. “It's alright, Barnaby, I just didn't expect it.”

“But, I did not ask, I just...” Barnaby's breathing had started to come fast and short like he was going to have a panic attack or something. 

“Ssshh.” Kotetsu moved his finger, tracing it down Barnaby's lips to his jaw before cupping the side of his face in one hand. “It's okay, I said. I'm not saying no, I just-”

“Yes?”

“I can't help but wonder why. I feel – I mean, I want – I'm confused as to why.” Why a silly old baker like him?

“I'm confused that you have to ask,” Barnaby said, the fear slowly leaving his eyes even if the surprise remained in those brilliant green rings. He moved his head against Kotetsu's hand. “Kotetsu, it's been since we met, I think, something just-”

“DAD? BARNABY!?”

They both jumped away from each other as if they'd been shocked; each one's head whipped to the side to see Kaede standing in the kitchen doorway, her jaw dropped in disbelief as she watched the two. 

“Kaede!? When did you get here!?” Kotetsu asked, scrambling, and then he pointed at Barnaby who immediately startled at the motion. “Ah, Barnaby's here! Look!”

“Are you two dating!?” she asked.

Kotetsu supposed he should have known she would ask directly, depending on when she walked in. “Um, you see...”

Barnaby started to open his mouth too, even if it was clear he was caught like a deer in the headlights with no idea what to say. Kotetsu didn't know either, but the best he could do was perhaps find some vague answer and distract her with cupcakes. 

He was about to do just that when his phone rang.


	18. 18

The call was a welcome one, but he wished it could have come at a different time. 

His bakery could be opened bright and early the next morning, the window fixed and everything all set. Everything would go back to normal and Charlotte could go home, though he was certainly thinking of investing into a security system for the bakery as soon as he could afford it comfortably.

Unfortunately he couldn't give that any thought at the moment. The entire call Kaede glared at him and Barnaby stared away from them both at the cupcakes they had just iced. It was so uncomfortable that he couldn't even smile during the call. And hell, he wanted to be happy, but instead he was just plain freaked out. 

When he hung up the call, he took a deep breath as he looked back at Kaede, unsure of what he should say to her. He felt so bad. She wasn't involved in as much of his life as he wanted her to be, and he wasn't around much at all. And then he was almost kissing some guy – even if that guy was Barnaby – in the kitchen when she came home. 

“Uh...so...” He didn't know how to start or where to go. “So how was your day...?”

Bad move. AWFUL move! Kaede was shaking. “What the HELL? Dad why were you...what's going on? Why is HE here!?” she asked, her head jerking toward Barnaby. It was the first time she had shown any indication of not being happy with the dashing hero she idolized so much. “Why are you touching him like that? What have you been doing?”

Barnaby looked at Kotetsu but remained quiet. It wasn't like he needed to speak anyway. It was all up to Kotetsu. “Honey, I met Barnaby at work. He came in to get coffee and something to eat sometimes.” He was trying to keep calm even if he wanted to light up and jump through the roof. 

She crossed her arms. “Uh-huh.” Well, the good news was that she hadn't told him to shut his mouth. 

“We kind of became friends and he helped me the night the store was broken into. And...er...” How did he bring up that they sorta, kinda, gradually started getting closer. 

“You should have told me,” she said, tapping her foot in aggravation. 

“There wasn't anything to tell though, really, I mean, you wouldn't have believed me if I said 'hey Kaede, Daddy knows Barnaby Brooks Jr.!', would you?” 

She sighed and blinked, the glare dropping. “I guess not.”

“We didn't plan this, either.” Barnaby finally piped up and Kaede looked at him. “Kotet-er...your father had asked me to meet you. He did not intend to keep anything from you. In fact I showed up today, unannounced.”

Kaede gaped at him, and Kotetsu had a feeling she didn't know what to do. Her hero was there in the kitchen, talking to her like a normal person and not like the idol she normally saw him as. 

“Yea we didn't plan any of this,” Kotetsu said quickly and both Kaede and Barnaby looked at him. Their gazes were intimidating, even if they were merely questioning. “It happened, though. I do like Barnaby,” he admitted, even though he was embarrassed as hell. He shouldn't be, he shouldn't. But having to talk about his feelings, even super-simplified, he didn't like it. 

He knew he had to do so for Kaede and for Barnaby. And really, the blonde looked a little more at ease since he said that. 

Kaede looked back at Barnaby. “You really do like my dad, don't you?”

Barnaby still looked at Kotetsu and nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“...Why?” she asked, and Kotetsu felt insulted! 

“Why?” Barnaby hesitated. “Because he's a nice person, and honest. He's himself. I encounter many fake people, each and every day. I rarely encounter someone like Kotetsu.”

To be fair, Barnaby had made it clear he didn't stop to get and know anyone, but Kotetsu wasn't going to make a dumb point against them both. 

“He's also never around,” Kaede said flatly, her anger making a sudden return. 

Barnaby obviously didn't know how to respond. Kotetsu wasn't sure how either, but he tried. “Yea I...I admit, I...”

Kaede held up her hand. “I'm going into my room. Go back to the bakery or whatever. Take Barnaby with you, maybe.” 

At that, she turned around and stomped off in anger. Kotetsu stared and cringed when he heard her bedroom door slam. Awkward silence descended over them both and Kotetsu knew Barnaby was extremely uncomfortable. 

“I ah, I didn't expect that,” Kotetsu mumbled, looking at the floor.

“And you thought she would have been excited to meet me.”

“If she had done it in any other way, that would have been true. I can't believe I- I wasn't thinking. I knew she'd come home, and I just didn't think.” Kotetsu felt ashamed as hell. 

“Well, I will be leaving.” 

Kotetsu hated it, and it made his gut hurt, but he knew their day was over. He nodded at Barnaby. “Okay. I'm so sorry about everything, really, I am.”

“I believe you,” Barnaby said, but he sounded stiff, his tone displeased...much like when they had first met. “Thank you for letting me bake in your kitchen.”

“Um...of course. Look, I will be returning to the bakery tomorrow, do you think you'll be...?”

Barnaby made his way toward his boots. “After tonight?”

“I'll talk to Kaede tonight, and straighten it all out.”

“Ah, well, I do not think I will be by tomorrow. Sorry.” He was tying his boots and it felt like he was miles and miles away. 

Kotetsu didn't like that. “O-okay. When, then?”

“I don't know.”

“...Okay.”

Barnaby slipped on his coat. “Bye, Kotetsu.”

“Wait, don't you want some of the cupcakes you made!?”

“No thank you,” Barnaby said, and then he left.

Kotetsu stared after the door. His chest hurt.

\---------

That night Kaede had refused to talk to him. She ignored him, even as he tried to catch her when she came out for food or the bathroom. He knew he was being annoying, but he had to get to her! He apologized, explained himself over and over, and still she was mad. 

He took Charlotte into his room that night and laid with her, the doll tightly held in his arms as he head spun and he found it hard to focus on anything positive at all. He had messed up so badly and he was so unhappy with himself for it. He thought about those cupcakes they made, fixated on them, and felt even worse if it was possible. “At least you're not mad at me,” he murmured to Charlotte with a sigh. He felt as though the doll was weirdly pleased, actually, now that it had his full attention. She would eat those cupcakes if she was alive. Why did Barnaby and Kaede find her so creepy? She was great company even if he couldn't get out of feeling low.

At one point that night he reached for his phone, and decided to shoot Barnaby a text. He didn't know what to say, and didn't want to smother and annoy him with his issues, but he wanted to say something to him. 'Hope I c u soon', he finally managed, and he hated himself for the use of letters where he should have proper words but he couldn't find the energy to even type the text correctly. He was getting tired and feeling worse and a voice in his head would not stop reminding him that the sooner he slept, the sooner he could go to the bakery.

When he fell asleep, he had awful nightmares, all being in a hospital. They did not wake him up screaming and crying; it was a weirdly calm mental torture.

However he did wake up before his alarm. With no desire to return to sleep, he got himself ready for the day – he had to get into the bakery early anyway so he could help things go back to routine. He hated that it also meant NO chance of catching Kaede at all, but he did what he had to. He put on his baker's coat, his hat and scarf, dressed in his jacket, brewed a coffee to go, and grabbed Charlotte before rushing out the door. 

The walk there left him feeling less than happy and he wished he'd driven, but at the same time his mind told him he ought to just walk and get fresh air. Charlotte stayed under his coat to keep her warm – even dolls deserved to feel comfortable. Once or twice he thought he saw that blonde girl from before his bakery was broken into, but it had to be his eyes playing tricks on him, especially when he thought he saw her shadow including a large gun. 

Scary. 

Charlotte went into the back room so she could be safe. Then Kotetsu rolled up his sleeves to get back to work. He began to make his bread, sourdough, white, wheat, vienna, and so on. He kept it to small quantities as he knew he had a delivery mid-morning of his frozen goodies that needed to go in the oven, including turnovers and biscuits. 

He got coffee going, and was pleased when some customers came in after the normal opening time saying how they had missed the place. He gave them some free coffees with their bagels and the other treats they got and chatted a little, though he felt very distant with them. 

It was a terrible thing to admit, but he found himself unable to care about what they said they had been up to. The reason? He just kept thinking...he had to get to the cakes. He needed to do up some fancy cakes and cupcakes, because yes, that would be a perfect idea. 

He refused to be rude though, and listened to every boring story he heard. As such, it was afternoon before he got many things started, involving cakes. There was time to do a chocolate one filled with raspberry and a delicious blueberry cheesecake treat, but after that he could only do the simple cupcakes and cakes with boring flower ad balloon decorations – sprinkles too when he really felt wild about it. 

The day was over before he knew it, and Barnaby didn't come in once. He didn't even return Kotetsu's text and he checked his phone several times that day. There was still the rest of the evening, and Kotetsu tried to stay optimistic, even though he was starting to fall apart as he carried Charlotte home.

At the last minute he decided it would be better to bring her with him, and that she would understand it was to keep her safe. 

With the day of work over, his mind wandered. He desperately wanted to see Barnaby and feel that spark between them. He wanted to give him a real kiss. Real romance and companionship had been out of his life so long, and the only one who had fit in years was Barnaby, despite being so much younger, withdrawn, and famous. 

His daughter DID come first. As a father he knew that, and he knew it was shameful to wish she would just make it easier for him and Barnaby. He wanted to date him. But he wanted Kaede to be happy. 

It didn't really matter what he wanted. He had his bakery he had dreamed about for so long and that should be enough. He knew that. 

Kotetsu came home and while Kaede said hello, she also went back into her room. She did not, however, slam the door and he took that as some kind of progress. 

Barnaby never texted him that night and Kotetsu was left falling asleep with the doll and yet more bad dreams. Barnaby's head was lost to the monster once again and it startled Kotetsu out of his sleep just minutes before his alarm would have.

He stared at his ceiling until it actually did go off and hauled himself out of bed.

Time for another day at the bakery.


	19. 19

The day at the bakery passed again like any other, and completely devoid of Barnaby. There was no text and no calls. Kotetsu did text him again. 'Hey, u alright?' he texted, and then set his phone down in the backroom so he wouldn't keep checking it. He had a feeling Charlotte wasn't too happy about being near the phone or in the back away from all the treats, but that was the way it had to be.

Everything was normal. Normal and boring. Everyone was either in a rush or at peace for the most part, and no one needed his help. No one said anything interesting. There wasn't even any of that entitled customer attitude to get worked up over.

He felt like he lost for the day when he went home.

What he had lost, he had no idea. He wasn't in a competition. And he had done good with sales for the day, also completing most of his task-list. But he still felt unaccomplished and sad. 

When he came home he saw Kaede watching HeroTV, though instead of sitting with her face nearly pressed into the screen, she was on the couch, half paying attention as she did some homework. She hadn't even turned on the TV the day before and he had a feeling she was making a very real point of avoiding seeing Barnaby.

But, he was still a hero and she still liked him, of that he was at least pretty confident.

“Hi honey,” he said as he took off his jacket and set Charlotte down. “Have a good day?” he asked, hoping she would say something.

“It was okay,” she responded with disinterest.

He expected that. He had to find some way to make things better, though it probably would just take time. He wanted to talk to her about what she had seen but he would have to wait until she was approachable. “Hungry?” he asked her.

“No.” She dismissed him immediately so he shrugged, went to the bedroom, changed into some lounging clothes, and then went to the kitchen to make himself some kind of dinner. It looked like hot dogs were going to be the super fancy meal of the night because they were quick and delicious and could take his mind off things.

He would also be having some of those cupcakes. 

Being in the kitchen was mild torture since he had pretty much spent the day in one, though it was baking and much different. Usually he didn't have an issue with being in the kitchen after a long day of work either. But that day, it felt tough.

He sat down on the couch on the opposite side of Kaede, quietly eating his hot dogs and trying to focus on the television. Of course, Barnaby was on it, and he was chasing after some criminal on fire. Luckily, the camera changed between Barnaby and that young girl with the ice powers, Blue Moonflower or something like that. 

It was nice to see Barnaby in action. 

“You're looking at Barnaby, aren't you?” Kaede asked suddenly and Kotetsu almost choked on the hot dog he had barely chewed before swallowing.

“ACK!” He sat there and choked and coughed and generally made a fool of himself, getting mustard on his face and getting some relish on the couch. He was surprised he didn't dump his plate, which contained one more hot dog snug in its bun and two of the cupcakes. When he finally regained his composure, Kaede wasn't even looking at him. She had to be embarrassed, even though there was no one there to see. “Sort of,” he finally answered here. “I'm watching everything they show, but I do want to see how Barnaby is doing so I know he's okay.”

That made her look back up at him, confusion written across her face. At first Kotetsu stupidly thought she was going to ask him a question about her homework. “You don't know how he's doing?”

“Well no, he hasn't been by. He's busy, I'm sure, and I do have other customers to focus on so it's not really a bad thing.”

“What about texts?”

Why was she so interested? “No replies. Like I said, he's busy...”

“He's ignoring you!?” she asked, confusion changing to anger.

“Ah, maybe not, I don't know...he's a hero and...”

She sighed. “I thought he would still be talking to you! I didn't mean to make you two break up!”

It was his turn to be totally confused. “Um, we weren't dating.” They were close to it. They had been painfully close, but they weren't dating. He really hated realizing that. It made him feel very sad. 

She rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him. And then she looked away. “I was mad you didn't tell me and that you've been giving him attention instead of me,” she mumbled, red rising into her pretty cheeks. “I didn't want you two to stop talking.”

“Kaede, honey, I haven't been making arrangements to see Barnaby instead of you,” he said softly, still feeling confused. “He comes by when I'm at work, or walks me home, and he was there when the bakery was broken into. I don't care what you say, that was not something appropriate to bring you to!”

“I KNOW!” she snapped, and then took a deep breath. “I know, Dad, but I thought...and if you two went on dates you'd be around a lot less...”

Kotetsu could only nod. He hadn't really thought about dates and the time those would steal from Kaede. “I see. Well, you may not have to worry about that, so just-”

“I don't want you to be alone either!” She said quickly. “Dad I know you've been lonely without Mom. But I...”

“You want time with me?” Kotetsu was a little shocked. He had heard what she said the other night, yea, and he knew there was some jealousy there, some sadness at him not being around, but usually Kaede dismissed his offers, acted like being with him was more of a chore than anything. Sure, they did things sometimes, like going to a big movie event or something, but they didn't spend significant time just being together. Their schedules conflicted a lot. 

She nodded and looked interested in her homework. 

“Kaede, I didn't realize. I'm sorry. Maybe I will change my hours a bit.”

“Dad...”

He shook his head. “No, no, there's no reason I need to be as open as late into the evening as I am, so, I'll at least change that. I still have to go in early, but nothing says I need to stay through the full dinner rush every day. And it's my own business...I can adjust hours to deal with days with more business.” Some days were quiet, after all. It wouldn't hurt for him to close early on a Monday or a Tuesday. And he could actually go in a little later on Sundays since most people arrived late after attending Church services.

“Are you really sure?” she asked, voice sounding small.

He smiled. “Sure. Anything for you Kaede.”

She blushed. “Daaad...”

He wanted to reach over and mess up her hair, but he had a case of mustard fingers and she wouldn't appreciate that at all. “C'mon, I want to. I love you!” He knew she would be quiet after that, so he started to eat that last hot dog. 

“You can...see Barnaby. It's okay with me,” she said finally.

Kotetsu almost choked again. “Kaede!?”

“”It's okay if you have a boyfriend, and he's Barnaby and he's really cool. I want to actually meet him someday...oh Dad do you think she's mad at me!?” she asked suddenly, her hands flying to cover her face. 

He chuckled. “No, I doubt it. It was awkward sure but I doubt he's mad!” But Barnaby was mad at him. Ouch. That didn't feel so good to know. 

“But Dad, the way I acted...Dad he's gonna think I hate him!” She buried her eyes in one hand. 

“Honey!” He almost laughed more. “It's fine! We'll just talk to him and straighten it out, okay?”

“Oh but...but...okay...but I'm so embarrassed...what kind of person does he think I am...”

Kotetsu did laugh again. “Don't worry, I'll make sure he knows how perfect and lovely you are.” That was, if they talked again. He desperately hoped they would, but he was just a common old man, a common baker, and someone a rich kid like Barnaby could easily let go of.

He hoped desperately that wouldn't be the case and that Barnaby would return. 

\---------

The next day was a little strange.

No, he didn't hear from Barnaby, but BOY did he feel out of it. Nightmares woke Kotetsu again, but even after waking, he felt a little...off-balance, perhaps. Not right. Like he was not completely in his own mind and in a daze. 

He had to go to the bakery and he had to bake, and he had to let Charlotte sit on the table. That was that. The feelings, the 'goals' were so strong that he almost forgot to get something to drink before leaving the apartment, and when he did, his head hurt and was swimming as though he made the wrong choice and took too long.

Something whispered to him: 'Get going!'

He made it to the bakery in record time, and made Charlotte at home as he knew he had to. A little tingle went up his spine and he turned to look out the window, wondering if there was a customer staring back and waiting for him to open. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes some of the beggars on the street would come by and lurk around until he opened, begging customers for change.

They usually because discouraged rather quickly moved onto a more populated and established coffee shop down the road. Kotetsu was grateful for that. 

When he looked out the window, he saw that white cat...thing. It had ears in its ears. Was it a rabbit? No...actually, it looked a little bit like a creepy demon. Or perhaps a mutated city rat...

As quickly as it was there, it was gone, and Kotetsu blinked when a bag of icing seemed to float into his vision and pop back out.

Hallucinations. He knew he should freak out, but he had them before due to stress, wasn't it? He was just stressed, without Barnaby there. 

He turned to Charlotte and her mouth was open. 

When he blinked, it was closed. 

Strange...yea, it was stress. Kotetsu shook his head and decided to go ahead and start frying up some donuts. He had a special treat that day, as a result of his stress – sort of. Kotetsu rarely did chocolate glazed donut holes because it was extra work he didn't usually want to do, with glazing, and chocolate rather than plain cake donuts. But he did like how they tasted and they sold fast. Anything that sold fast that people liked meant word of mouth and meant business, and he just needed things to look up in a big way.

Donuts it was, and he could feel Charlotte being a little put off, but not angry. She still liked the most common sweets, like cupcakes. She liked things loaded with icing. They took the edge off when things were dark and when things were scary.

The hospital would have been a much nicer place when he worked there if someone brought in a cake, once in a while. 

The hospital...he suddenly missed Tomoe. He missed having someone there. He missed...

Kotetsu groaned, seeing more visions of yet more treats. He was not right. He was upset. He picked up his phone and texted Barnaby. 'I don't feel good', he sent to him. It was doubtful Barnaby would respond. In all truth, Kotetsu was sure he had lost him by being so irresponsible – maybe he did understand the feeling he had the day before.

It had taken a long time to occur to him that...Barnaby's parents were gone.

So how must he look when Kaede was sad about him not spending time with her? He had to look like a selfish asshole. And he could say he tried, but even that wasn't quite right. He had invited Kaede to the bakery and sometimes asked to do things with her, but he hadn't really pushed, he hadn't been forceful enough.

Part of that was because he didn't want to smother her. She showed often enough that she was embarrassed by his silly antics, so it was best to withdraw.

Yes, withdrawing was best, just stay at the bakery and make yummy things and spend time with Charlotte. He looked out at the doll and tried to remember if she was on the same side of the table as she had been earlier. He couldn't remember at all. 

A customer showed up and he had to snap himself out of it. He had to serve a coffee and a bagel with honey cream cheese all over it. The customer, an older man, more so than himself, was pleasant enough and he was nice to chat to, but Kotetsu was relieved when he left because he could focus on his thoughts.

And right after that man left, his eyes tricked him yet again as he seemed to catch a glimpse of that girl, the one from days ago with the blonde hair, peeking in the window and giving Charlotte an anxious look. What right did she have to do that? 

But then she was gone. 

Kotetsu worked through the rest of the day, wondering if he would fall over at times. He still felt so very strange and his head had begun to throb painfully by the time he left the bakery. What a terrible day. There weren't even that many customers. 

As he left the building, he could have sworn the floor beneath him changed color, and he was stepping into another world. There was a door ahead of him that didn't look like his own and he hesitated before turning the knob. Soon enough it became his own door, though around him things suddenly felt bright, almost – almost cartoonish, bright blue with baked goods and wrappers all around...

He stepped out of the bakery and decided maybe it was simply that he needed fresh air.


	20. 20

As he laid in bed later that night, Kotetsu was able to look at the ceiling and feel himself relax, feel a little more at east than he had felt before in the day. The hallucinations stopped a little after he got home and had another of the cupcakes he made with Barnaby. Those were quickly starting to age and he ate as many as he could. Luckily Kaede did eat and enjoy a few of them. In fact, she said they were amazing.

He and Barnaby really were a great team. God, he hoped he would get to talk to him soon. But Barnaby was busy and Kotetsu could not disturb him. He had been lucky to get the attention he got from Barnaby in the first place. 

At least Kaede was talking to him again.

Kotetsu was trying hard to think about something else, find another thought or several to grasp onto. It was hard to think about anything that wasn't the bakery or Barnaby and he wished his mind would think about...songs, or something.

Then his phone went off and he almost fell off the bed in surprise. It was late and he should be sleeping, so he had half a mind to just let the caller leave a message. But, no one ever called him – unless it was an emergency.

Oh, great.

He groaned and answered the phone without checking the I.D. “Hello?” he asked, trying not to feel too annoyed. 

“Are you okay?” Barnaby asked and Kotetsu sat straight up, feeling more awake than he had moments before. 

His mouth hung open, and he wanted to respond, but he was too shocked! Barnaby was calling him, and checking on him. He couldn't tell if he was frustrated, not from those three words, but he had called! “I ah...hi!”

“I said, are you okay?”

The repetition told him that Barnaby was still mad and Kotetsu hunched forward in a defeated position. “I am at the moment, now that I'm home. But I had a bad day at work today. Felt really out of it.”

“Have you been sleeping?”

Kotetsu frowned. “Sort of.”

“What do you mean sort of?”

“...A lot of bad dreams,” Kotetsu admitted. It was hard. He wanted to keep it to himself even if Barnaby would understand more than anyone how it was to lose sleep and sanity over nightmares. 

“Oh.” That's when Barnaby sounded more concerned. 

“I-I know it sounds crazy, but I felt like I was seeing things all day. It was difficult to get through.”

“Perhaps you need a doctor.”

'I need you', Kotetsu's mind supplied even if it was true he likely needed a doctor. He missed Barnaby greatly, but his physical ailments were not due to that, how could they be? He had not – he had not been deeply in love, and even if he had, what he was feeling was not the phenomenon known as heartbreak – right? 

He was sad...

“Kotetsu?”

“Barnaby, I miss you.”

He heard a sigh. “We're not talking about that right now.”

“But maybe we are.” He swallowed. “The nightmares may have nothing to do with you, I think they are stress, but it's hard to feel better and easier to feel worse when I'm upset.” Anxiety had hurt his stomach and head badly in the past, that was for sure. “I'm not blaming you, or anything like that!” He really wasn't. None of it was Barnaby's fault.

There was a long pause on the other line. “That does make sense...”

“I'm guessing you've felt okay...” Kotetsu said, and he felt his heart shrinking in his chest. Ouch. 

But Barnaby sort of eased that right away. “No, I haven't been okay.” He gave no details. Kotetsu would ask later. “But with your daughter...”

“I talked to her, Barnaby. She's okay with us. She thought it was different than it is,” Kotetsu said, trying not to sound too desperate. He wanted Barnaby to understand, more than ever. “It was confusion it – she's worried now that you might be mad at her.”

“What!?” He felt he could see Barnaby's surprised expression. “I would never- of course not! She has every right to be mad at ME!”

“Well, she's not. She was mad at me. But it's okay now, you see...it's okay. It's...ah Barnaby...please come see me.”

“Kotetsu...”

“Please? You say you haven't been okay. There's no reason for us not to see each other now. I really like you, Barnaby.”

Again, there was hesitation on the other end. “But..you do?”

Why did Barnaby think Kotetsu was feeding him frosting right back if he didn't? “Yes. Um, very much.” Kotetsu was blushing hard. God, how had he ever been able to do it before? How had he ever asked Tomoe out, how had he ever asked her to marry him? Feelings were hard and people were scary! That's why he hated unlocking himself!

“I'm...interested in you too...ever since I came to the bakery.”

Kotetsu couldn't understand that. Love at first sight? He'd heard of it in the stories. But for Barnaby, a young hotshot hero, to walk into his bakery and immediately fall for HIM of all people...he should be honored. 

He was. “So do you want to?”

“Want to what?” Barnaby asked, even though Kotetsu knew he knew what he was talking about, and they were both acting like shy little kids. If his phone had a cord he'd be twirling it and kicking his feet in the air. 

“Do you want to date me?” Kotetsu forced the words out. He had no idea how he did it. He couldn't do it again if he tried he was sure. 

Barnaby, of course, had the damn nerve to pause again before answering, making Kotetsu break into a cold sweat as his heart raced. But he did answer before it became totally unbearable. “Yes. I want to, very much.”

Kotetsu nearly broke his entire face with the smile that followed. “R-really!?”

“Are you hard of hearing? Yes!” repeated Barnaby and he sounded flustered as hell. 

And like that, in that instant, Kotetsu's life didn't feel so lonely anymore. His room didn't feel so small and dark, his bed felt softer, and he felt like he could move buildings. Technically he could, but he was thinking without his power! Everything was amazing! 

“Kotetsu?” came Barnaby's concerned voice.

Whoops, he'd been quiet while he smiled and actually rolled around on his bed. “Sorry! I'm just really really happy!” he babbled into the phone. “You're happy too, right?”

“What!? Of course I am!”

“You should come see me!” Kotetsu said suddenly, feeling unable to stand another moment without Barnaby. 

“Right now!?”

“Yes!”

“Kotetsuuu! I can't right this second!” He sounded like he was smiling too. “It's late and I do have work tomorrow too, you know!”

“I know, it's just that I can't stand another minute of waiting!”

“Well, you'll have to.” Barnaby's voice was stern, though still cheerful. “Isn't there a saying...absence makes the heart grow fonder?” he asked, and Kotetsu blushed again.

And he laughed. “Well, right, right you are, Barnaby. I...alright, but please come to the bakery or my apartment tomorrow. Whatever works best, just come see me.” He was ready to beg if he had to. 

“I will. I will text you in advance as well so you know when to expect me.”

“Be prepared for me to hug you,” Kotetsu warned him, the thought making him even more impatient.

Barnaby sighed. “Alright...I guess that's okay.”

Kotetsu snorted. “You guess...haha. Well, that's...I'm excited!”

“Me too, Kotetsu.” There was a definite fondness when he said his name that time. “But I really must go. It is late and I would like some sleep. Oh....and I will still want to discuss your daughter.”

“Yea, yea...okay. We will.” It was important after all. “Anyway I'll get to bed too.”

“Alright. ...Good night, Kotetsu, and please do sleep well.”

“Good night Barnaby!” Kotetsu said with a smile, ready to play the 'no, YOU hang up!' game.

Barnaby, being Barnaby, hung up right away though. Well, he shouldn't have expected him to want to play that game.

It didn't matter. Kotetsu wondered if he was dreaming. He had a boyfriend. He had a significant other again, he had someone who cared about him and wanted to give him that affection he couldn't get from friends, not that he had any. He wasn't so alone in the world anymore though. 

And he had never, ever see it coming. 

He never even thought Barnaby would really be his friend, and then the young man wanted to be with him. He couldn't possibly understand why and he knew he would ask Barnaby, at some point. 

It was so much to take in, and that made him feel exhausted. That was a good thing! He'd been so happy and excited he didn't know how he would fall asleep. He thought he would toss and turn impatiently the whole night, waiting to see him. 

But when he laid down, he thought about Barnaby and grinned while hugging one of the pillows on his bed. He felt so good that his mind managed to calm itself, and he drifted off with Barnaby in his thoughts. 

Unfortunately, his nightmares came back that night and were just as painful as ever.


	21. Chapter 21

Kotetsu woke up with a very, very bad headache. He tried his best to shove it aside and get ready like usual. His excitement and stress probably didn't help. 

Sometime that day he would see Barnaby! He just didn't know when, and that sort of sucked. He would feel wound up and unfocused until then, which wasn't really good when trying to cook and prep so many things and deal with people. The headache only made it worse. Hopefully he would only need to pop painkillers and that would take care of the pounding in his skull. 

Two little pills down the hatch and out the door with his coat on and nerves taking over. All that helped soothe him was Charlotte tucked in his coat again, her happiness contagious as they neared the bakery. 

He walked closer and remembered how strange it had seemed yesterday. But that was a result of feeling sad and upset. So he knew it would be back to normal, warm and cozy and very welcome as a cold drizzle started outside. 

Hopefully Barnaby wouldn't have to go out hero-ing in that weather. He would end up sick! ...And then Kotetsu would take care of him, and it would be a bonding experience and holy hell he just wanted to see Barnaby so much!

Barnaby wanted to see him too, and everything was okay and-

Everything was not okay.

He noticed that as he opened the door to his bakery. The coloring inside was...off. It was just as strange as it had been in his hallucinations. But he couldn't be hallucinating again, could he? His headache, surely that wasn't a sign of...

If he was going crazy he was going to be really upset.

Against his smarter thoughts, he walked into the bakery, the door left open. He was afraid to close it. He walked to the first table and paused there, ruing his hand through his hair as he tried to gain some understanding of his surroundings. 

It wasn't just the color that was strange. The floor beneath him had changed, it looked like it was black with...with bandages!? And he noticed, behind his counters, giant pairs of scissors. On his cases and the rest of the tables, lollipops and chocolates, some half eaten. Near the door to his backroom was a cart of even more candy. His walls were in the process of going from a rainbow of colors to pink, which already started to chip away to black. 

He stared at all of it. He knew he should be smart and run but he couldn't. It was his bakery, and it was home to he and Charlotte. He couldn't even get himself to look a the open door. 

Charlotte...

Slowly and carefully he removed her from his coat. And then he almost dropped her. Her mouth was open wide! Very, very wide, and something...something was moving, something dark. Like a worm or demon or...something.

Okay, maybe he did need to get the hell out of that place. But to leave Charlotte, when she was in danger. “Don't take off on her,” a voice said in his head as if on cue and he was unable to get himself to go. 

A pink wall became black and every single pair of scissors twitched.

His mind started to work and he was going to run, when he heard a voice. 

“Looks a little strange in here, doesn't it?”

Kotetsu whirled around to see the speaker, and there was that strange girl, the blonde, Mami. The one who had come in once and tried to get Charlotte from him. He hadn't liked that at the time, but at that moment she brought him a great comfort. He knew she knew what was going on. 

“Mami?” he asked, his voice coming out almost as a scared squeak. 

She gave him just the slightest nod, and then sighed. “I had hoped this wouldn't happen. Kotetsu, had you just given up Charlotte when I asked, this would have been so much easier. I could have taken her by force, but Madoka says this world is so delicate.” She glared off to the side momentarily, apparently angered by someone who wasn't there. 

“Madoka...” he repeated, his focus shifting back to Charlotte as she seemed to be convulsing in his grip. He set her down on the table and practically jumped back.

“Charlotte, you've gone and built yourself a labyrinth...” Mami shook her head as she took two slow steps forward. There she sounded sad. “What a mess. Why couldn't you have just given her to me?”

Kotetsu blinked back her, about ready to freak out and scream like a girl. Why couldn't he be a little braver? “Uh...I don't...understand what's happening here.”

Mami looked at Charlotte, frowning. “She's built a labyrinth.”

“Yea, you mentioned that, I don't get it, can you stop this please!?” Kotetsu babbled, having quite enough. His head hurt so bad he felt like it might split open. He was panicked and wanted to run. 

“...Come with me.” She offered a hand for him to take. “I will explain this, but I cannot have you here with Charlotte. She is changing, she is becoming exactly what she would have been in my own world had no one interfered. You've got to come with me; Charlotte had a nasty appetite when it gets out of control.”

Kotetsu didn't know her, he didn't really trust her. But he didn't trust the quiet, trippy looking bakery he found himself in and he really didn't trust those scissors. He didn't trust the things scurrying across the floor with nothing but spirals for faces either. His headache made things had to even think about trusting. 

Something came out of Charlotte's mouth. It had a nose and it had eyes, it had a scary face.

He took Mami's hand and the next thing he knew they were running out of the bakery. 

 

Kotetsu woke up. Again. His vision blurred as he opened his eyes and he felt a little odd.

There was something cool and damp on his forehead and he was in an unfamiliar bed. It wasn't as comfortable as his own. It didn't even feel like a bed someone would make their...their home. 

“We're in a hotel. You got in here, and you fainted,” came a gentle and sweet voice. It was a voice that soothed him, made him feel calm and good, and he wished the speaker would keep going.

That was when he realized that his headache was gone. It had stopped trying to cleave through his skull. 

Someone came into sight and it still took a few moments for him to really focus. Ah – that girl, that girl with the pink hair, the one that had shown up a while ago looking kind of lost. He didn't know her, but he liked her. Even as she was blurry around the edges, he could just tell he could trust her. She was good. 

“Where am I? I heard a hotel, but...”

She smiled at him. “Walker Square Hotel. We're only a few blocks from your bakery. I'm Madoka.”

“Madoka...My bakery – is it okay!?” he asked suddenly, scared for it as he remembered what was left behind. He started to sit up. 

 

The young girl's hand pressed against his chest, trying to steer him back down against the bed. He didn't lay back down, but he did pause in an awkward position, back and head just raised off the bed. She shook her head at him. “Sit up slowly, not too quickly. We've just taken care of the nasty headache Charlotte felt like sharing with you.”

“Char-my doll?” he asked, and looked at the hand on his chest before trying to sit up again, slower though. 

“She's a little witch, unfortunately. She wasn't always, but this world drained her just enough. She tried to put some of her anger and pain on you but it didn't quite work.” Mami was sitting across from the bed, drinking tea as she explained. “She doesn't belong here, and now I'm not so sure I can get her home. If I had just broken in-”

“It doesn't work like that,” Madoka said gently, hushing her. Kotetsu blinked and noticed Madoka's hair seemed a lot longer than when he had seen her before. It seemed kind of...kind of magical, if he had to find a word for it. “You can't just do that here, this world isn't the same.”

“Breaking and entering at home isn't okay either, and we do it there if we must.” 

“But they don't have witches here. It's just not something we can do,” Madoka countered.

Kotetsu started to worry that his headache would come back, but it was gone. It was long gone, and he felt great physically. Madoka knew what she was doing. She was a little kid, but, Kotetsu had seen weirder that morning than a couple of smart kids. 

“Um...hello? I don't understand,” he said, raising his hand like a school child eager to get noticed. 

Madoka looked back at him. “Charlotte was brought here by force, and we've been looking a long, long time. Kyubey did this, another strange experiment. No doubt it found your draw to the doll interesting, which is why it returned it.”

“During when, the break-in? ...I thought you couldn't do that?” Kotetsu said, confused. 

Mami shook her head. “We didn't break in. We did chase the one who did.”

“...Who?” Kotetsu asked, and he started to feel overheated so he pushed the flower-print hotel bed blankets off. He looked around more as he did so, but there was nothing descriptive about the room really. It was very typical with the exception of a little table that did not belong there, loaded with cheese and a bit of cake. He couldn't help but be drawn to it, staring. Someone else there liked desserts and it made him happy. 

“She means that it was someone with us, with a little less regard for the way things are here. But it was not one of us two, and at this point we are the only two remaining here. After all, there are witches and other dark forced to fight where we come from.

Kotetsu didn't really find that acceptable, but he nodded as he stood up. He didn't feel like arguing when he was so confused. ...Usually that made him more argumentative, but with those two, they weren't drawing it out of him. He didn't have any sort of urge to argue with Madoka. “Uh, okay, so Charlotte is becoming a dark and scary witch. What happens? What's a labyrinth?”

“Witches surround themselves in labyrinth as a way to hide. Normal people don't see them, but because you and that doll developed a bond, you can see it,” Mami explained. “Charlotte enjoys sweets, she always has, and was drawn to a place that used to be a bakery. Then you came along not long after and started your business. I personally think she sort of knew what was happening, and chose to be there at the start for the purpose of winning your trust.”

Madoka put a hand on her hip. “It's a possibility. I know it sounds too good to be pure luck for her, anyway...I wish we could communicate with her.”

“Uh, me too...” Kotetsu chimed in. He was – he was worried about the doll. He didn't want to destroy her, or even whatever she turned into. It felt wrong. It felt like murder. 

“We will have to destroy her if we can't get her home.” Madoka sat on the bed.

“How do you get her home?” Kotetsu asked, trying to imagine a magic spinning portal in the sky or something. 

“Madoka can do that, somehow.” Mami didn't expand, and Madoka didn't add anything in. “But she'll know more once we weaken Charlotte. I hope we can get her home.” Mami softened, even though she hadn't really seemed hard or cold to begin with, just straight-forward and smart. “Charlotte is my friend.”

Kotetsu nodded at her, and smiled. “She's my friend too. Please, allow me to help.”

“It's far too dangerous, Kotetsu,” Mami replied, and gave her cup an unhappy look. She must be empty. “We have powers.”

Well. Kotetsu grinned. “So do I.”

Madoka smiled, seeming unsurprised. “I knew it.”

Mami looked at her. “You did?” Then to Kotetsu. “You're a...NEXT?”

“I sure am!” he said proudly, and then slouched. “I never use it, though. I mean...it's Hundred Power. It boosts my physical traits a hundred times what they are now. It's a power meant for fighting, for being a hero and...I'm not a hero.”

And awkward silence hung over them all. Kotetsu knew how pathetic and weak he sounded right there. He remembered his talk with Barnaby, about his powers and...Barnaby! He had to call him! But before he could say that, Madoka spoke up.

“Do you want to be a hero?” she asked quietly.

Kotetsu looked at her. “Well...no...I don't know...not really. But I hate my power going to waste I guess.” 

“Will you be a hero for a day, for Charlotte?” Madoka asked and she looked right into his eyes. 

Kotetsu wasn't sure. He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't tough. He didn't know fighting strategy, or battles, and never mind fighting the supernatural – how was he supposed to do that!? But...he wanted to, or Charlotte. 

He needed to help her. “Okay.” He nodded. He felt good as he did so. He could be helpful, he could be useful. A smile spread over Madoka's face, and he felt happy, though he till realized he had something to do. “Uh, I need to call my...boy...my...friend and tell him not to stop by today.” His heart ached for Barnaby as he said that, but he had to do what he had to do. 

He would explain himself somehow.

“Of course,” replied Madoka, watching as he took out his phone.

Kotetsu dialed Barnaby, hoping he was there to pick up, though he would leave a message if he had to. He wanted him to pick up...wanted to hear his voice...

“Hello? Kotetsu?” 

He answered! Kotetsu couldn't even speak for a second but gathered himself quickly. “Barnaby!” he said and felt like a swooning teenager as he said nothing else.

“...Yes?”

“...Oh! Barnaby, please don't come by the bakery today.”

“Um...”

Kotetsu spoke quickly. “I want to see you so bad, please don't misunderstand! In fact, maybe you could come to my place tonight, but the bakery isn't...really...ready after all. It wasn't done right.” He hated lying right then, really hated it. 

“But Kotetsu...”

“I'm sorry, like I said I want to see you!” Kotetsu said, starting to worry. “Just later, okay?”

“Sure, but...” There was a pause, and he heard Barnaby sigh. “I'm kind of already at the bakery...”


	22. 22

“He's THERE!?” Mami asked in disbelief as Madoka worried her lip nearby.

“I-I guess so.” Kotetsu was already up, finding his coat where they had hung it in the closet and pulling it on. “I told him to leave and meet me at a place nearby and he said okay. I'm pretty sure he got out. I just need to hurry up and get down there.”

“But why would he...how could he...did he not notice that the inside of your bakery has certainly changed?” Mami asked him, hands covering her eyes in annoyance and distress.

Madoka was quick to have her hand on Mami's in an effort to pull it away from her face. “Mami, perhaps Barnaby cannot see the labyrinth. Not everyone can. Kotetsu saw it since he had bonded with Charlotte.”

“But the blonde man should have seen it,” Mami stressed. “His despair is even greater than Kotetsu's, and his mind has been considerably weakened and thus opened enough that he should have been able to perceive the labyrinth.”

“Weakened can mean easily tricked too,” Madoka pointed out, and Kotetsu was lost in all of it. 

He was putting on his shoes as he listened, and he wanted to get more information. Damn, he needed it! But he had to rescue his, his prince in distress...in dire distress. It was then that the gears in his head turned enough for him to properly catch up, even with his hand on the door handle. “His despair...his mind....weakened?”

Madoka looked at him. “Yes. I can tell something is wrong, but in this world, I cannot tell what. I wish I could. Something has happened to him, something terrible; he's been under attack. It's not a witch, it's...worse.”

“Worse?” Kotetsu swallowed; his throat was dry from the worry he felt. 

“He is being tormented, but it's not out of anger and hate and such despair as a witch feels. It's something truly evil,” Madoka continued. 

“Witches are dark, but they became that way out of hurt,” Mami added in. “Whatever is hurting Barnaby is doing it for their own benefit.”

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow, looked at the door handle, turned it, but looked back at Madoka. His mind was muddled and he was worried. “How do you know all this about him? How can you tell?”

Madoka offered him a little smile that was almost sad. “I have my ways,” she answered. “But in this world, the laws are different, and I cannot read everything even if I have figured out some things.”

He didn't understand anything. “Well, I'm going! If you don't want to come, it's fine, but I need to go. I need to find Barnaby...I really need to find Barnaby.” He had to help him. He opened the door, hearing Mami's voice.

“We'll be right behind you!”

\-----

Kotetsu felt the heaviness even a block from the bakery. Depression was thick in the air and it felt like he was going to choke on it. Maybe it was just luck that he didn't. He pressed on, dragging his feet as he forced himself on, even though the world just plain felt sadder the closer he got. 

He'd only ever felt such a heavy feeling when Tomoe died, and tears stung his eyes. 

“You need to stop,” Mami told him, and Kotetsu paused, looking back at her. “You are letting it eat at you.”

“It's not bothering you?” Kotetsu asked.

“It doesn't have that effect on us,” Mami said simply. “But we need to stop. Where did you plan to meet Barnaby?”

“Uhhh...Value Books, a bookstore nearby.” He would have to backtrack to get to it, but he wanted a little glimpse of his bakery. 

“Then let's go there,” Madoka suggested. “You cannot force yourself any further right now, and I think we need to be sure that he is alright.”

Kotetsu was finding it hard to think. He wanted to hold his head and crouch in a corner and make the bad thoughts that were forming go away. It was like he was about to embark on a nightmare while wide awake. “Um...”

Madoka took his arm. “Come along.”

Her touch was extremely soothing. She had a presence, like an angel, a saint, something, that washed over his mind and made it easier to remember he was okay. Maybe in her own world she was a healer. He would have to try to ask her. She didn't seem keen on giving away too much, but perhaps after whatever ordeal they were about to go through, she would trust him enough to tell. 

He let her lead him away and to Value Books, back out of the haze where immediately he felt clearheaded and happier even if he was still very very worried. He also felt dumb knowing he was recalling memories of Tomoe and about to cry. They weren't kidding when they talked about witches bringing hopelessness and sadness. It was a good thing those monsters didn't exist normally in his own world – or did they? People did suffer from depression, they hurt themselves, killed themselves, killed others. Heroes were needed because of the darkness of the world. 

It was a lot to consider, too much to possibly take in, and he was relieved to see the bookstore sign come into view. 

Madoka and Mami stopped outside the store and urged him to go in. Kotetsu appreciated it. He knew Barnaby would not be as approachable if he had the two strange girls with him. There was also the fact that they had not seen each other since agreeing to try dating and he knew he needed to see Barnaby alone. 

He stepped into the store, waved to the man behind the counter, and made his way to the back where there was little sitting area and some books for kids. Many of them were used and the bookstore didn't mind if customers plunked right down there on one of the three chairs and started reading. 

It was quiet, with no customers at the moment, and in the middle of a circle surrounded by shelved books was Barnaby sitting in the middle seat. He was in his usual red coat and jeans, hair curled to perfection. His hands gripped his knees and he stared at them. 

It was clear he was bothered by something.

“Barnaby,” Kotetsu said quietly, making his way toward him.

Barnaby looked up at him and immediately his expression changed to a happier one, a smile on his face and light in his eyes that Kotetsu hadn't seen before. Barnaby stood up as Kotetsu reached him and Kotetsu found himself swept into a warm and loving hug. “Kotetsu,” Barnaby practically hummed in his ear, holding him close.

It was affection Kotetsu hadn't really witnessed in him until that moment. The time in the kitchen was closeness and attraction, but it wasn't the kind of fondness and tenderness he felt in that embrace. He returned the hug, closing his eyes and smiling. “Hi, Barnaby.”

“I'm so happy to see you...”

“I'm happy to see you too, Barnaby. It's been tough not seeing you the last few days. I'm so happy you're here,” he said and he squeezed him. He felt the morning sort of melt away. No, he hadn't forgotten about Charlotte, Mami and Madoka. But those troubles were leaving him as he held Barnaby. 

It had been years since anyone shared such warmth with him. 

“I missed you,” Barnaby told him, and Kotetsu knew he didn't have to say he missed him too. 

He let go only so he could lean back and just look at Barnaby, to study that face he would be seeing even more of from that point on. It felt unreal, being in a new relationship and knowing it was with Barnaby. He studied the face he couldn't wait to cover with kisses. He would do it that moment if he knew it was okay.

By the way Barnaby looked back at him, he was sure that it was.

But he simply pulled Barnaby back to that hug and they enjoyed the shared comfort for a few moments more. Neither wanted to let go, but finally Barnaby was able to and he very slowly let his hands drop. “So...um...I um...” He smiled and blushed and looked away. 

“Awww, c'mon.” Kotetsu rubbed his arms. “We can talk like normal, yanno!”

“I-I know, I've just never...”

“Barnaby, look at me,” Kotetsu coaxed him. “Talk to me.”

Barnaby did look at him, opened his mouth, but said nothing. 

Kotetsu laughed. “Alright, well maybe in a little while...uh...by the way...” He wasn't sure what to say himself, and was slowly remembering there were kind of two people waiting on him outside. “You looked kind of down and out when I came over here.”

“...Oh. Yea.” Barnaby shook his head. “It's nothing.”

“No, nope. You can't say that. We're dating now, so you have to talk,” Kotetsu said with a grin, and poked him on the nose. 

Barnaby wrinkled his nose in return and Kotetsu understood never to do that again. “I suppose that's true...”

“It is. Tell me. Maybe I can help.”

“It's ridiculous, really,” Barnaby said with a shrug. “When I got to the bakery and you weren't there, I began to feel very, ah, very sad I guess. Unhappy, and wondering why I thought you would be waiting for me.”

Kotetsu frowned. “Barnaby...”

“I know it makes no sense, I know how badly you wanted to see me. But it just came over me, and I found myself thinking of the things that make me sad, my parents, my-my failure to avenge them, how much of them I can't even remember.” He started to put his hand on his head, but paused with his eyes still on Kotetsu. “I don't know what came over me, and now it seems shameful.”

“It's not.” Kotetsu wasn't sure if it was okay, but he took a chance and kissed Barnaby's forehead. Barnaby startled but did not pull back. “It's not shameful, to feel those things. And besides, it wasn't your fault. The bakery...something is wrong.”

“Wrong?” Barnaby asked, looking up at him. 

“Yes. I began feeling strange there myself, as I mentioned last night, and began to feel even weirder this morning. That's when things got out of control, ah...”

“Is there a leak of some sort of chemical?” Barnaby asked him. “That may explain some of it, I'm not sure. But it sounds like we should check.”

“Um well, not exactly, but I have a team on this already. We'll go out and meet them and...assist.” He felt anxious saying that, and very awkward not spitting it all out for Barnaby. But would Barnaby even believe him? No, he'd have to take him to meet Mami and Madoka. He could easily suggest Barnaby go home, but the younger man would fight him. And he would be unhappy if he didn't know the truth of what was going on. 

“I...see.” 

“Listen, they can put it in way better terms than I can. So come on, we'll go talk to them, check on you..they checked on me already. I'm just worried about you and you...hell, Barnaby, I am so, so happy to see you!” He couldn't help it!

Barnaby nodded and his blush came back. “Okay. I'll come out and talk to the people you've hired.”

He had no idea. Somehow, it was cute. “Okay, good,” Kotetsu replied. The idea of dragging Barnaby into it was scary, but he had no other good choice. 

“And...Kotetsu?” Barnaby asked, looking nervous.

That made Kotetsu nervous. “Yes?”

“Just so you know, I enjoyed that, just a moment ago. I mean, I um, well, you see, I enjoyed when you...mmm...” He struggled to communicate it, and knowing how well-spoken and smooth Barnaby was, it was cute. Barnaby touched his fingers to his forehead where Kotetsu had kissed him. “I liked that.”

“The kiss?”

“...Yes.”

“Aw, Barnaby.” Kotetsu knew he should be leading Barnaby to the door, but he hesitated just to kiss him on his head again.


	23. 23

“There's a witch in the bakery, you two are from some other world, and we're going to work on sending all three of you back...”

“That about sums it up,” Kotetsu said, rubbing his own arm anxiously while Mami and Madoka looked to be getting impatient. 

Barnaby glared at all of them as if they were trying to prank him. Kotetsu couldn't blame him for being a bit soured. He was pulled out of the nice quiet bookstore where they'd been hugging and having their own long moment just for him to be told what sounded like the plot of some fantasy movie for children. He had no reason to believe them, no reason at all, and Kotetsu prepared himself for Barnaby to call them all crazy and just walk off. 

“It's true,” Madoka said after a long pause. “I know we don't have a good way of convincing you, especially if you didn't see the labyrinth...”

“WHY didn't I see it then?” Barnaby asked her, his gaze hardening. “So you three all saw this strange world that sounds like what people see on hallucinogens, and I didn't...why?”

“There's something wrong with your mind,” Mami said, simply and matter-of-factly but it made Kotetsu cringe and he rushed to save it. 

“Ah what they mean is, for some reason your mind can't accept it, can't um...recognize it? Ah, I dunno...they see it because they are magical girls, and I see it because I bonded with Charlotte, but as far as you, there's no reason...”

“There's reason,” Mami said, and her tone was a little more subdued, as if she realized she offended Barnaby and didn't want to do it again. “I just don't know...” She looked to Madoka.

“Something has damaged your mind,” Madoka said, looking sad. Her cheeks looked a little red too. “I wish I knew what. It's left you not knowing what's real and what's not. The labyrinth is real, and for some reason your mind cannot see it as such. It should, but...”

“Damage.” Barnaby blinked.

“Yes,” replied Madoka. 

“You're calling me brain-damaged.” He looked like he was going to tweak. His hands were twitching, eyes narrowed, and all right outside a bookstore on a sidewalk, though thankfully there were not too many people walking nearby for the time being. 

“No no no!” Kotetsu panicked and waved his hand, moving toward Barnaby.

Madoka shook her head. “Not at all! Sorry, I know it must not make sense. There's just some sort of barrier there and...” She trailed off, looking stuck on how to explain it.

“You know how some people can see ghosts and talk with them and stuff?” Kotetsu asked, standing next to Barnaby close enough that their arms touched. Thankfully Barnaby didn't move away. “It's like that. You can't do that and it's not 'cause you're brain-damaged! It's...ah...some say they can see spirits because they've had near-death experiences. Maybe you have had some experience that changed you being able to see this...or you haven't had an experience that MAKES you able to see it, uh...” Kotetsu knew he had to be on the right track! But, he wasn't quite getting there, and it was frustrating to him, because the last thing he would ever want to do was call Barnaby brain-damaged!

Another pause hung over them as a couple of people walked by, chit-chatting about some of the tourist traps nearby. A second after them a woman walked by on a phone crying about some book she'd read. Then some kids ran by and Kotetsu wondered why they weren't in school shortly before thinking about how odd the group of them must look, two young girls who also should be in school standing around staring at him and Barnaby. They were getting nowhere fast and he hoped the bookstore owner wouldn't accuse them of loitering and get pissed off. A cold breeze came through and he shivered in it. 

Barnaby seemed startled as Kotetsu shivered next to him, as if he didn't expect the very small movement, and his glare began to fade. He looked at Kotetsu and then his gaze dropped down to the ground. He slowly turned back to the girls and focused on them. “I'll...go...I don't understand what's going on, nor do I really believe it, but it is obvious something is happening, and I'd at least like to know what.”

Kotetsu let out a relieved sigh, even if he didn't truly feel relief. Barnaby still didn't buy it all. Kotetsu knew, he KNEW he had to be careful, that he was walking on thin ice. Baranby may want to date him, but he did not know him long or well enough to trust him in regards to such a bizarre story. Kotetsu very easily risked losing him, and there wasn't much he could do because everything happening was real.

It was real...he wasn't lying. And yet, he felt a little ashamed, as if he had. 

“Well, let's get going then,” Mami said, stepping away from the shop, Madoka doing the same. “We will accomplish nothing standing around here.”

“Yes...let's go...” Kotetsu peeled himself away from Barnaby. He dangled his hand down, not reaching for Barnaby but hoping he would notice it was free should he wish to take it. He knew that Barnaby may not be the type to hold hands in public, but he still hoped...

Barnaby did not take his hand. In fact, Barnaby just quietly followed behind all of them, purposely keeping his distance. He stayed like that on the very short walk to the bakery.

As they approached Kotetsu found himself wondering what it was that prevented people from seeing what was happening.

The entire front of his bakery didn't look right. The windows were striped pink and white, the door looking cartoonish and strange, yellow and like someone had drawn it but made a mess while doing so., scribbling extra lines and coloring all around them. Around all of it spots appeared and disappeared, multi-colored, and making his eyes hurt. He looked away from it and back at Barnaby, who seemed un-phased.

They stopped in front of the door. “Well, are we ready?” Mami asked.

“I dunno,” Kotetsu answered. “We don't really have a plan...”

“We will have to subdue Charlotte until she is weak enough for Madoka to take control of...and she will have to figure out getting her back.” Mami sighed.

Kotetsu looked at Madoka, who certainly came off as nervous. “I thought you weren't sure how to do this?” He was confused, anyway.

“We talked when you went in the bookstore,” she explained. “I don't know, exactly, but with the power I have surely I can figure out something...”

That wasn't very promising. Not at all. “Oh, ah...” Kotesu stared until Mami grabbed his hand. 

“We need to go in. I will protect you but...be careful,” she said, and tugged him towards that hellish door.

Kotetsu waited for a comment from Barnaby, but the blonde said nothing. Well, he'd find out. Mami opened the door and they stepped inside.

It looked like they'd entered a child's nightmare. It didn't look like his bakery at all anymore. He couldn't see the ovens, the counters, the donut holes, the coffee cakes – nothing. It was obliterated by a – a blackness and things that didn't belong there. Giant desserts crowded a never-ending space, and he didn't know if they were real or not. He couldn't smell anything.

It looked like they were almost inside a cave, with band-aids inexplicably laying everywhere. “What's with the band-aids?” Kotetsu asked. 

“Ah she's pulling from memories of when she was human,” Mami said, and didn't elaborate. Kotetsu would have liked to ask her until she held a small piece of jewelry out in front of her – some kind of gem or other trinket – and it began to glow yellow. She did a few steps and the ground beneath her sprouted little flowers that vanished almost immediately as her shoes, as her entire outfit changed. Her clothes didn't come off, they just – they just CHANGED!. For a few seconds he couldn't even really see her, like she'd gone...gone dark. He heard a gasp behind him that indicated Barnaby saw it too. 

Her school uniform changed entirely, her skirt yellow with black edges and a corset that pushed up her chest. Kotetsu hated noticing how it made her breasts look larger, pushed them up into one's face really, even with a yellow ribbon on her chest that sort of drew some attention. Her shirt was off-white, and long sleeved thankfully. Sort of. After a second he realized her sleeves were short and she wore something else over her arms...a...a sleeve-sock!? Her hair stayed the same, though she wore a neat feathered hat on her head and that piece of jewelry she held before had become a hair piece of sorts, shaped like a flower. 

Kotetsu tried not to look at the younger girl's legs. Her tights changed too, he could tell, but he felt wrong studying her so much, both as a father and in front of Barnaby. It wasn't like he was sexualizing her, or anything, he just felt wrong regardless. 

When she was done, he noticed she had one very, very long musket in her hand. Yikes. She was smiling. “I'm ready.”

“What...what was that?” Barnaby asked, and Kotetsu couldn't answer.

Mami looked surprised, and then smiled. “This is my fighting form...I used my powers to transform into it. I forget that even though you two are with us, you don't know what's really happening. Barnaby, what do you see?”

Barnaby blinked his pretty, innocent looking green eyes at her. “I see the inside of the bakery.”

Kotetsu frowned. “Really?” 

“Yes,” Barnaby nodded. It seems normal to me, though ever since I came in here I haven't felt happy. I feel a little angry even, but this happened before, so...” 

Kotetsu knew he didn't know what to think. He turned to Mami. “Will this be an issue?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Well, I don't know. You see the bridge behind me?” she asked, and suddenly Kotetsu did see it, a dark suspended bridge over some sort of endless pit. Tall white, lit candles ran alongside the bride like streetlights and he couldn't really see the other end. 

“Uh, yea.” Kotetsu didn't like the feeling he got just looking at that. Those candles...they were just too...too long...

“We'll have to cross it, and I'm curious how that will work for him.” Mami tapped a finger against her musket and looked at Madoka, who remained in the same clothes. “Can you do anything to help him see?”

Madoka shook her head. “I don't know why he can't...wait. I have an idea.” She walked to Barnaby, stopping at his side, and held out her hand. “May I take yours...?” she asked politely, a sweet smile on her face.

“I suppose,” Barnaby said, hesitating. He held out his hand, and as Kotetsu could see, he was really, really forcing himself. So, Kotetsu was the only one he cared to make physical contact with..that left him with a good feeling.

He couldn't focus on it then and there. He watched Madoka and Barnaby join hands and waited for something to happen. Nothing did. Madoka was still watching Barnaby, though. “Anything?” she asked, as if she knew they were out of luck.

Barnaby shook his head. “I'm not sure what you were expecting,” he said, his tone a little harsher than it needed to be. 

“Then I will try something else, please come with me,” Madoka said and pulled on him gently, starting to walk toward Kotetsu. 

Kotetsu tilted his head and watched, and as they got closer he held out his hand. He wasn't sure what he should expect, but something told him that she wanted him to join hands with Barnaby. 

Madoka lifted Barnaby's hand to Kotetsu and let go. Kotetsu took Barnaby's hand and as he did so, Barnaby gasped, let go, and jumped back. He then shook his head as if in disbelief and backed up even more, eyes wide. “Wh-what's going on!?” he asked, looking ready to run. 

Kotetsu stared. “You could see it?” he asked, and Barnaby nodded. Well, he saw something anyway, and Kotetsu knew he should clarify. “You saw everything around us? Saw the bridge, saw the candles-”

“Saw the bandaids on the wall before I let go. Didn't see a bridge. I want to go,” Barnaby said.

Barnaby was a skilled and brave hero. He was a smart young man. He was ready to take on what he needed to, but he wanted to run the hell away. Kotetsu was aware he should be a lot more freaked out, but he wasn't. Barnaby however could see just how fucked up it was, how it wasn't right...

He assumed as much, anyway.

“Barnaby, you can leave if you really want to...he can, right?” he asked, looking at Madoka and Mami, who both nodded. They probably wondered why he was there to begin with. 

“If he wants to, he can,” Madoka confirmed. 

Kotetsu looked back at Barnaby. “So...Barnaby?”

“So I'll be leaving you alone here?” Barnaby asked, shaken.

“Well, not alone,” Kotetsu said, motioning at the girls. “They're with me.”

“I don't know them, though...” Barnaby trailed off and rubbed his head. He stood there as Mami shifted impatiently, eager to get going. They didn't have all the time in the world as Kotetsu could understand, but he still held back from rushing Barnaby. 

“Madoka,” Kotetsu asked, “How come Barnaby can see everything when he touches me?”

“Well...his heart and mind are open to you. Very open to you. It seems to not just conflict with, but lower the barrier keeping him from seeing things normally. You to must be very close.”

Kotetsu was surprised. He and Barnaby had not known each other THAT long! But they had grown closer and closer to each other. Perhaps there were other forces in work, forces that said they were meant to be. That sounded silly. But could it be true? 

It gave him all the more reason to protect Barnaby. 

“I think you should go home and be safe,” Kotetsu finally said. As much as he wanted Barnaby on his side, his bakery and Charlotte were his problem and his burden, not Barnaby's. In fact he should have never even told him anything was happening at the bakery – what was he thinking? It was better to keep silent and he knew that, but he still opened his mouth. Kotetsu was frustrated with himself and he looked at the ground, trying not to punish himself too much.

He had to be careful there especially; he could feel the oppressive atmosphere all around him, telling him he should feel down, he should feel sad, and it whispered maybe he was better off gone.

No, no that wasn't true, was it?

As he began to mentally fight back, a hand took his and closed around it gently. The bad thoughts went away and he looked right into Barnaby's eyes, bright behind the glasses even though he was still clearly afraid. 

“I will go with you, Kotetsu. I'll protect you.”

Kotetsu stared and then slowly smiled. Barnaby looked scared and serious. His hand even shook a little, so Kotetsu squeezed it. “You don't need to do this.”

“I want to,” Barnaby said, and before they could stare at each other any longer, Mami spoke up.

“Well then, we need to go right away,” she said, and Kotetsu knew she was right. “Are you two ready? We really must...”

Kotetsu and Barnaby nodded at the same time. “I'm ready,” Barnaby said, trying to sound very strong even though it didn't quite come across.

Kotetsu squeezed his hand again. Then he swallowed as Mami went first, Madoka second, with Kotetsu and Barnaby walking behind. 

With nerves at an all-time high, they all crossed the bridge.


	24. 24

They were all quiet as they crossed the bridge. It annoyed Kotetsu; he was one to try and fill a scary silence at times to calm himself and anyone with him, but he knew it would not be appreciated for him to babble on and on at that time. He just had to keep a hold on Barnaby's hand and protect him.

It still surprised him that Barnaby trusted him enough that through him he could see the witch's labyrinth. How was that even possible? He felt lucky, though. He was very lucky. He had a wonderful daughter and an adorable boyfriend. 

Maybe that meant he wasn't meant to come out of the labyrinth alive, because sometimes things just worked like that. It seemed too good in a way, for him to find someone after his wife passing. 

Sometimes he thought for sure he didn't deserve to find anyone, and he felt it at that moment, trying to crush his soul. 'Charlotte, why?' he asked but only in thought. What had happened to Charlotte that she was hating and hurting so badly?

The bridge started to come out on some strange white surface. It looked like fake whipped cream, something strange and plastic about it when it should have been a little fluffy. Kotetsu knew they were probably climbing onto the top of some kind of big cake. It didn't take a genius to realize that in a bakery with a doll – or with, rather – that seemed drawn to sweets. 

Indeed they came out on top of a giant strawberry shortcake, cut in half. The other half was directly across from them and Kotetsu could see the sloppy layers and the cake crumbs carelessly slapped on the side. Around them the walls seemed to melt like warm ganache, a dark black and purple with pink and red dots all over. Ah, Charlotte...

And then Madoka stopped them, and Kotetsu tilted his head as Mami walked on top of the cake in front of them. “She'll take care of this. She's amazing,” Madoka said with a smile. 

“Take care of what?” Kotetsu asked, looking at Madoka.

Barnaby pointed with his free hand. “Look...”

Crawling on top of the cake were little...things. They looked a lot like what Kotetsu had seen in his hallucinations when just working in the bakery – they even looked like the things in his dreams. They were like...blobby black circles with the red dots. Their faces were just white and purple swirls, with lilac floppy ears...arms? They had long pink tails like some of rat.

Kotetsu didn't see how they could attack, but he sure was creeped out. His heart raced and he wanted to get the hell out of there with Barnaby – and the other two. He couldn't abandon anyone, that just wasn't his way! He would rather help...

He felt a twitch against his hand and knew Barnaby felt the same.

“What can she...” Kotetsu didn't know that she could take out all those things with one gun. 

Then Mami raised her hand and above her several silver muskets appeared. 

“What!?” Barnaby started to back off, and his hand started to slip from Kotetsu's, but Kotetsu grabbed it again, tight, and kept watching. 

The muskets floated above her as she took aim with the one she held before, and that's when things exploded into an blur. Those creatures, whatever they were, rushed at her and Mami blasted each one quickly in a most spectacular fashion – she would shoot a gun, toss it aside, grab another from the air, generating more above her as she did it all in a spin so fast Kotetsu was dizzy from merely watching her.

He couldn't look away. “How...?” His mouth dropped open as he stood there uselessly and watched. 

Madoka giggled. “Mami has been fighting for a while, most of the time spent on her own. She's become quite formidable.”

“On her own...you fight with her now though, yes?” Kotetsu asked. 

Madoka merely smiled and Kotetsu swallowed. Barnaby tugged at his hand, taking a step forward. “We should, we should go and help, with Hundred Power I can-”

“No, no.” Madoka shook her head. “Let her do this. You'll need that power after this anyway.”

That worried Kotetsu and he traded looks with wide-eyed Barnaby before focusing on Mami spinning ever so quickly and constantly taking those things out with her guns. Whenever she hit and killed one, they exploded into those flowers he remembered seeing at her feet...

When they cleared out she started jumping down the layers of the cake, and Madoka took off. Kotetsu and Barnaby followed behind her and could see more little blob monsters coming as they made it down the layers of the cake and through a door that rested on the other half. 

They found themselves in something resembling a hospital room with old, rusty looking beds floating above them. It may have been more accurate to say it was a lab, or a mix between the two with various medical equipment and creepy nurse mannequins with swirl faces that only seemed interested in watching them, not attacking. 

Most of what surrounded them was syringes. It was uncomfortable and creepy and the cold, hard feeling developing in Kotetsu's gut was too familiar as he was flooded with memories of Tomoe. 

He nearly let go of Barnaby's hand but caught himself and raised his other hand to his head to hold it. It hurt. It pounded as they moved swiftly through the thermometers and heart monitors and syringe forest. 

“Kotetsu?” Barnaby whispered and it hurt. Kotetsu just shook his head and Barnaby didn't say anything more at that moment. Kotesu kept his gaze turned down, his entire body cold. Why were they there in that awful place? Why couldn't he stop thinking about Tomoe in the bed, the nurse jabbing her with a cruel needle to hook her up to an IV drip? He could only think about the way he could do nothing for her, and how he also could do nothing there at that moment but follow two girls like a scared puppydog. Barnaby was some poor individual he dragged into the whole mess. 

He felt horrible for it and ignored Barnaby as he said his name more. 

Charlotte must have spent a lot of time in a hospital, and she must have loved treats. But something horrible and sad happened. He hadn't known her to help her then, and he'd have been as useless then as he was with Tomoe. The worst thing was he was probably going to harm her again himself by bringing Mami. 

The ground began to blur before looking see-through. He was vaguely aware of the black stripe along the ground and the numbered dashes beside it. 

He heard a gasp from Barnaby and looked up to see more of those damn blob creatures from before, their red dots making them obvious in the giant bright white curtains they were getting closer and closer to. 

Their feet were noisy as they ran, and Kotetsu slowly became aware they were running on a giant syringe. He would have immediately freaked out had Mami not stopped at the very end, thankfully where the plunger was, and held out her arms. 

He expected to see her muskets, but instead what looked like barrels from the ends of giant guns appeared on the ends of her arms, like a natural extension of herself. He could see she was holding them in some way, but didn't quite get it. Kotetsu didn't like guns, didn't learn about them, and stayed the hell away from them. All he knew was when Mami aimed the shiny barrels at the army of horrible little beasts coming towards them, the blasts were loud and powerful and blew those things into the air before they even had a chance. Two or three shots probably would have ended them, but she shot two more times before jumping off the syringe to a white frosted ground that appeared before them.

There she paused and waited for them to catch up. 

No longer were they around the syringes, but Kotetsu's head still felt painful and heavy and he wished he were far, far away with Kaede and Barnaby. It felt like he wouldn't pull himself together. 

Surrounding them then were mostly cupcakes; fancy looking ones he himself made and sold in his bakery. It was unsettling to see the familiar strawberry cupcake with chocolate sticks protruding out of the frosting next to a chocolate covered strawberry. Disturbing too was the cupcake with the filled chocolate cannoli resting on top. There were more, many more cupcakes, with black and white wrappers. Each was accented by a cute pink bow, some with more of those red dots. 

In front of them was a wall that looked like layers and layers of vanilla and strawberry cake, with a circular logo printed all over it and Kotetsu knew that figure in the logo.

She looked slightly different than if it really were the dolls silhouette, each piece of her thinner than reality, but it was Charlotte. It was definitely Charlotte. 

The only thing interrupting the logo was a tall door resembling a candybar. It said cheesecake on it for no apparent reason. 

“Now, when we go through the door, she'll be there,” Mami warned them. “She may still be in doll form, but earlier she was...hey.” She paused, looked at Kotetsu, and then at Madoka. Her expression was worried. “Madoka, we may have a problem.”

Madoka looked at Kotetsu and frowned. Barnaby stepped around to see his face and drew a sharp breath. “Kotetsu!”

“Yes...?” Kotetsu asked in confusion. He felt tired. He wanted it over with.

“Kotetsu, did you feel a weight as we made our way here? A sadness? Anger?” Madoka asked, reaching for his free hand. 

“Huh?” How did they know? He sure didn't want to admit it, but since they could already tell...

“You were crying. I can see the tear stains on your cheeks.” Barnaby said it so...so seriously, and firmly, but his expression was that of worry and anxiety. “What happened?”

“Um...” Kotetsu tried to look away from Barnaby but felt terrible about doing so. He couldn't add to his high state of discomfort.

Mami had a musket again and she was sort of trading it between hands as they stood around. “Kotetsu, if you allow yourself to get too upset and fall too far into despair, you will not be able to help us with this witch. She will cripple you. If she is able to get by me you won't even have a chance. That's what these things do to a normal person. They can make you want to hurt, even make you want to die.”

Kotetsu's gaze shifted to Mami, and he couldn't help but feel a little stubborn about it all. “Charlotte won't do that. Not to me. She knows me. She likes me.”

“”It may have changed now, Kotetsu,” Mami warned. “Charlotte lost her grasp which is why this labyrinth finally burst forth. She may not even recognize you.”

“She could recognize him before?” Barnaby asked in obvious disbelief. He probably hated the idea of it. He hadn't trusted that doll from the start of things, which made Kotetsu realize something. 

“Hey, Madoka,” he asked suddenly, the question breaking through the crushing thoughts trying to take him over. “You said that Barnaby couldn't see the labyrinth because of something to do with his own mind...but...but he never liked or trusted Charlotte and before this he knew her as nothing but a doll. How come he didn't trust her? A sixth sense of sorts?”

Barnaby blinked. “That's right! I never felt good about that doll and especially her being alone or close to Kotetsu. I knew something was wrong. I'm pretty good about knowing when a situation is bad, but that's usually when...when I'm already digging into something shady.”

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow as Barnaby glanced at him nervously. He'd have to ask about it later, he supposed. 

Madoka considered it for a moment. “Well, thinking by the laws I am used to...I think it's because Barnaby kind of opened himself to you the moment you first met.” Ah, the love at first sight. “And with that came a fear and concern for your safety. With his thoughts and feelings so focused on you, he knew something surrounding you wasn't right. And he knew that feeling whenever he saw the doll. But he didn't know what he...” She sighed. “Barnaby, your mind should allow you to see everything around you, since you picked up the ill feelings radiating from Charlotte. I don't understand what's happened to you that you can't. Have you ever had a concussion, perhaps?”

“He is a hero, so maybe,” Kotetsu chimed in, even while Barnaby shook his head.

“No, I've always been very careful,” Barnaby answered her. 

Madoka just smiled. “I'm afraid I still don't know, then. However, Barnaby, try releasing Kotetsu's hand. By now I believe you should be able to see your surroundings.”

Barnaby nodded and let go of Kotetsu's hands. They all stood there, Mami growing impatient and Kotetsu waiting for Barnaby to suddenly vanish or something since they were no longer connected. 

But Barnaby stayed. And looked around. “I can see it all,” he said quietly.

He had no time to take it in with quiet awe, because then Mami snapped. “We NEED to go! Madoka...please...” 

Madoka nodded slowly. “Yes...but...Kotetsu?” she aked.

Kotetsu thought about it. Since they had addressed him he found himself feeling a little better. He didn't feel as sad, and knowing about Barnaby's attachment to him helped yet again. He knew he shouldn't depend on it, or look to Barnaby's feelings as a way of helping him cheer up. But, in that moment, they were doing the trick. He still thought about Tomoe, and felt sad, but Barnaby was his new chance and that made him feel hope, strong and persistent within him. 

“I'll be okay,” he told them, and smiled at Barnaby, who smiled back. 

“Good,” Mami said and it was clear she could wait no longer. She opened the door, took a deep breath, and quickly entered it. Kotetsu listened for a shout, for a cue of what was going on in there, but he heard nothing. 

It appeared he did not need to worry. Madoka just smiled at him again before she followed Mami. All that was left was he and Barnaby and an eerie silence.

Kotetsu started to go then, but felt a tug as his hand was grasped yet again by Barnaby. He looked over his shoulder. “I thought you could...?”

“I can see,” Barnaby told him, squeezing his hand. “I want to anyway.”

Kotetsu didn't even know how to react, or what to say. Somehow those words carved right through the cold he'd been feeling, leaving a warm feeling that surged through his body. 

Wordlessly, he squeezed Barnaby's hand in return and they hurried through the door.


	25. 25

Kotetsu saw the inside of his bakery.

Everything was exaggerated – the tables and chairs were gigantic, with legs that went what seemed like hundreds of feet up before they reached the seat or table surface. The tables had dishes on them but Kotetsu could not see what was in them from where he was. 

He saw his counters, also giant. The register wasn't there though, instead there was a white wedding cake with red ribbon thrown all over it. He could see the different racks he owned but some things had changed. A lot of the breads were replaced with cupcakes and danish rings, things Charlotte apparently had a preference for. Various items were replaced by cupcakes and he could see what Charlotte liked. He wished he'd known earlier. Maybe he could have made her happy somehow.

The floor was littered with giant frosted, at times sprinkled, donuts. Every now and then Kotetsu could spot a cinnamon bun or a croissant, but for the most part it was lots and lots of different colored donuts. 

The walls were pink with various dark shades of melting icing coming down them. It did not look delicious, it looked unsettling. Everything about that 'room' felt like a nightmare, and Kotetsu realized with a start that a lot of his nightmares had begun to look like that...

Charlotte had caused them. He doubted she did it on purpose. 

Speaking of Charlotte...

Soaring between objects – and maybe it was more 'slithering in the air' than soaring – was a serpentine creature with a very long body that was black with red polka dots. The head was circular and white and scary as hell. Her eyes held many colors, multiple irises perhaps with different colors – red, orange, yellow, neither eye matched patterns. His head swam when he looked at them. Yellow circles marked her cheeks just as they had when she was a doll. Her nose protruded quite far from her face – a red flower shape with five circular petals on the end of a yellowish stem. On top of her 'head' she had two ears shaped like wings. On the left, the ear was red, and on the right, blue. 

The first thing Kotetsu could think was that she looked like a clown's nightmare. 

He noticed, lastly, that something was on her tail. And that something looked like the actual doll. Kotetsu remembered when he left something was emerging from her mouth. 

“Oh Charlotte,” he sighed, watching her weave around. She was huge. She could easily devour him in a single bite if she wanted to. 

Mami and Madoka watched her too, and Kotetsu didn't have to ask to know they were studying her. 

“So, are we going to fight her?” Barnaby asked quietly, his question only meant for Kotetsu even though it wasn't his call. “I think I should be able to take her out with my Hundred Power,” Barnaby said, and there was some of that arrogance he had displayed when they first met. 

Kotetsu shook his head. He didn't actually grasp the plan the two girls were forming, but he knew none of it involved Barnaby running in with Hundred Power. “Barnaby, you're not here to take her out with your power.”

“Why am I here then?” He asked the question Kotetsu wasn't sure how to answer.

“As a support to Kotetsu,” Madoka said, stepping back to them as Mami jumped to head after Charlotte. “Especially if he begins to feel upset again.”

Charlotte turned at that moment, looked at them, and smiled. It was perhaps the creepiest thing Kotetsu had seen in his entire life. Her teeth were sharp, incredibly sharp, as if she were going to rip up meat instead of decadent desserts. She looked hungry as her gaze fell on them for a split second, before her attention was drawn to Mami. And as quickly as she noticed Mami, the girl took aim with her musket and shot.

Kotetsu lept forward immediately, letting go of Barnaby's hand with a shout. “No, no don't shoot her!” he pleaded. “Stop, please, STOP!”

Charlotte went after Mami as she thankfully put away her gun and hopped to the top of one of those tables. That's when she brought out the big barrels again. 

Kotetsu couldn't stop himself and he went running. He couldn't let them shoot her, he just couldn't! Maybe she had become a monster, but Kotetsu still believed in helping, not harming! And couldn't someone, anyone at all help Charlotte?

Barnaby yelled after him as did Madoka, but he kept going, just kept running at Charlotte. He had to do something. “Mami!” he yelled, and she didn't look.

As a result, Kotetsu snapped. 

He lit up, his blue glow surrounding him. He hadn't used his powers since that day Barnaby caught him and had barely used them before that. He hadn't used them to fight in decades, but if he had to throw some Hundred Power punches, he would. He didn't want to throw them at Mami, but if he had to...

He landed on top of the table, behind Mami and next to a few macarons as big as his head. He rushed up next to her and she turned her head just barely. A look of surprise passed her face. “Kotetsu...!”

He reached for the barrels and forced one down and then the other. If Mami put up a fight, he didn't really notice, forcing his way in front of her to see Charlotte. “Hey! Heeeey! It's me!” he said, waving his arms and having no strategy whatsoever. 

Charlotte merely blinked, and then she started to come at him. Her mouth opened, sharp teeth glistening, somehow, even though they had the impression of being part of a giant cartoon. Kotetsu swallowed but stood there, surely she wouldn't hurt him!

He open mouth came closer and closer and in those eyes there was no sense of compassion or understanding, just madness. Nothing but hunger and insanity. There was no pain, even if Kotetsu knew she felt it. 

Charlotte lurched forward and someone's hand grabbed Kotetsu's arm, pulling him out of the way rather suddenly. Charlotte chomped down on the space where Kotetsu had been standing and he felt fear, cold and real, strike his gut. 

“What are you DOING!?” Mami hissed at him, irate. She was red in the face, angry, and probably trying not to explode at him. 

“I thought...didn't you bring me here to...” Kotetsu didn't know what the hell to say.

“You can't just wave your arms and expect her to calm down! Charlotte may not even be in there anymore, in this world I just don't know!” Mami said, and Kotetsu heard a movement behind him. They bother paused to look, and then Kotetsu was quick to grab Mami and jump to another table just as Charlotte chomped down again on where they had been standing. 

Breathless they paused just a little bit to watch her as she looked at the table she'd just destroyed. She swallowed the macarons she accidentally ate, and she looked around. She didn't appear interested in Madoka and Barnaby when she looked their way, but when she saw Mami and Kotetsu, she was after them again. 

Mami didn't hesitate to pull a musket out of nowhere and start shooting at her. It did no good and Kotetsu had to pick both of them up yet again and hope to a table with turnovers on it. 

Charlotte came their way, and she was halfway between tables when suddenly she was jerked back, HARD, her mouth falling open in an almost comical silent cry. Kotetsu could see at the end of her body, holding the doll in one hand and her tail in the other, Barnaby was glowing blue and pulling hard. 

“Barnaby!” Kotetsu cried and started to go to him. Mami grabbed his arm again. 

“Kotetsu stay here! “ she commanded, looking uneasy.

As Barnaby pulled, Charlotte curled her body to look at him and that was when Kotetsu saw the first look on confusion on her big white face. It quickly changed to a grin again and she went for him. 

Barnaby wasn't having any of that. He started swinging. He literally started to swing Charlotte like she was a damn lasso and Kotetsu's eyes widened when he saw her start to awkwardly spin around in the air, crashing into tables and hitting the melty wall. He was sure he heard Mami giggle next to him. 

Well, it was easy for her maybe, but broke his heart. “I have to go to her.”

Mami frowned, but rolled her shoulders in a shrug of defeat. “I'm not going to stop you, but I will be back-up.”

Kotetsu nodded and they both went to the ground, Mami jumping without his aid. He was surprised until he remembered just how much she had been able to do, not needing his Hundred Power in the slightest. Man, was there even a point to him being there? Probably not...he could do nothing. 

“Hey, it's getting to you.” Mami gently nudged him. “Come on.” 

He shook his head and followed her. They were going to Barnaby, who had stopped swinging her and had wrestled a thicker part of her body to try and drag her in. Kotetsu didn't see how it was possible, but Barnaby still managed to grab small handfuls of her black body and pull her closer. Even with his Hundred Power it didn't seem like it should work.

But it did. For a few more seconds. With a cry Barnaby lost his grasp and Charlotte was quick to whip her face around – she looked messed up. Her eyes had gone into multicolored swirls and her ears droopy. Her big blue tongue hung out of her mouth. He hadn't thought she could actually get dizzy! 

Kotetsu took advantage of her momentary stupor and jumped up. He didn't have much time left at all, but he was going to do what he could. He landed right on her head, between her big winged ears, and he picked one up. “Charlotte, Charlotte...” He wasn't sure which part of the wing-ear to speak to. “Charlotte it's okay, stop being angry. Why are you angry? I'm your friend, tell me, however you can. But please don't do this.” He stroked the ear gently, and then the top of her head. Surely some patience and gentle care could tame the beast...right?

Charlotte was slow, and for a moment he thought it was due to him, and that he had tamed her somewhat, she recognized his voice. “Causing pain can't be anywhere near as fun as causing joy,” he told her, and he didn't know that for certain. Kotetsu never set out to cause pain. He only wanted to help people. But he was sure hurting others couldn't be that pleasurable no matter how convincing movie bad guys tried to be. 

Then she lurched forward again and he almost toppled off, grabbing onto both of her ears as she opened her mouth wide – and went right for Barnaby. He saw the look of terror on Barnaby's face and Mami aimed her big guns again. 

Kotetsu let out a very girly shriek and before he could move Charlotte stopped. He was dizzy at that point, and terrified. Not to mention his glow faded and he had no more power over her, not that he really had any before at all. 

He was sure she'd gotten Barnaby. Bit down hard and fast, even though he couldn't be sure he ever felt her close her mouth. His fists had gone white from clenching the ears too tight, and he was ready to vomit. But he had to look.

For Barnaby. He had to see what happened to Barnaby, and be ready to never forgive himself if he saw blood. 

Kotetsu hauled himself up on top of Charlotte's head and noticed she was trembling. He could see her eyes, rolling back to look at him. At least, he thought they were. She looked in dire distress, actually worried. When Kotetsu tried to see Barnaby he couldn't. 

Mami was staring though, at Charlotte's mouth, and she had her guns aimed. Kotetsu carefully climbed off of Charlotte and hopped the short distance to the floor. He turned to see quite the sight: Charlotte's mouth was wide open, Barnaby inside it and holding it so she could not close down on him.

“B-Barnaby!” Kotetsu gasped, ready to have a heart attack. “Barnaby get out of there!”

“No,” Barnaby grunted, looking at him. “Mami, shoot now.”

Mami blinked but aimed her big barrels. “Are you sure? Barnaby, you may want to move.”

“I'll dodge before it hits!” Barnaby called to her. “Just do it!”

“Wait, wait! Don't shoot her!” Kotetsu yelled, and no one was listening. He reached for the gun but Mami shook him off easily. Was he really so weak in his shaken state? 

“Kotetsu we have to! Charlotte can't hear you, nor can she recognize you!” Barnaby yelled back.

“We haven't given her enough time!” Kotetsu shouted desperately, not knowing what to do. He couldn't stop Mami from shooting and he couldn't get in the way. He had to be careful because he was not going to let Barnaby's power run out in Charlotte's mouth.

Mami sighed. “We have to. Sorry, Kotetsu.” And like that he knew what she was doing was the right choice, as hard as it was to accept. 

Then, she began to shoot at Barnaby and Charlotte.


	26. 26

Kotetsu stared at first, because that was all he could do. He could only see smoke and explosions and both Barnaby plus Charlotte's face became difficult to see. It terrified him and he found himself taking quick breaths, his head light. Every gunshot made his head throb, especially as Charlotte's body really started to go limp. 

Maybe he shouldn't look. He felt like it was disgraceful and mean to Charlotte and Barnaby not to look, but he wasn't sure he could handle it.

...Actually, he KNEW he couldn't handle it. Kotetsu found himself crying once again and with a loud sob he tried to turn his head away – which was when he saw Madoka, floating over their heads and looking...different. He blinked and more fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to take in what he saw before him. 

Madoka hadn't changed in the same way Mami had. He had a feeling he was looking at someone who was way beyond being a 'magic girl'. Her presence made him unsure he should be looking, there was something godly about her, he knew he was in front of someone grand. 

Her hair had become long, very long. It flowed around her, behind her, absolutely everywhere and no matter how hard he did end up staring he found himself unable to keep track of it. It constantly swirled around her. 

The ribbons in her hair had become white bows, her dress was long and white and flowing. The sleeves were short but he was sure if she were standing, he could not see her legs. The dress had to go on for miles! With her floating overhead he could, unfortunately, see up her dress – but there was nothing to see but the appearance of a beautiful star-filled universe. He was thankful for that. She wore white gloves and boots, the latter going up to her thighs. The heels had wings on them.

A goddess. He was seeing a goddess! 

She took the distraction off of the way Charlotte and Barnaby were engulfed in smoke, and she smiled at him. She didn't float to him, but she went to the two he was worried about. Mami stopped shooting, waved her hand, and the musket became a simple white teacup. She sipped from it, her eyes falling closed as a sense of calm came over her. 

Kotetsu didn't feel that calm, and so he started to step forward when Madoka held a hand out, and the smoke was replaced by a soft pink glow. It stayed for a few seconds before vanishing. Then before him he saw Charlotte, big head laying on the ground, tongue out and eyes open but not moving. He didn't see Barnaby anywhere. 

“I...BARNABY!” That time when he rushed forward he didn't stop. “Charlotte!” He wanted to ask Madoka if they were dead. But as she hovered nearby, he sort of felt like he shouldn't ask her questions.

He ran up to Charlotte's giant head and tried to look in her mouth, but all he could see was her big tongue still. She wasn't moving and her ears had drooped. 

Maybe he should ask. “Madoka,” he asked quietly, and sniffed. He really hated crying in front of someone but the tears wouldn't stop as his heart clenched. For a few short weeks, he had so much. They were taken from him before he knew it. “Are they...?”

“Talk to her,” Madoka insisted and gestured with one delicate gloved hand. 

Kotetsu crept closer and placed his hand on Charlotte's cheek. “I'm sorry, Charlotte. I should have protected you...” He sobbed grossly and hated himself for it. “I'm so sorry! To you and to Barnaby. I should have been able to help you both. Barnaby, I wish I knew what troubled you...you too Charlotte...I let both of you down,” he said, realization dawning on him hard. He never found out why Charlotte became a witch, and didn't have a chance to see why Barnaby's mind had been so broken he couldn't see the labyrinth. He couldn't believe he had failed. But hey, when had he ever done anything other than that?

Kotetsu leaned forward, and then hugged her as best he could. One arm went across her face, the other up her body and behind an ear. “I'm so sorry,” he sobbed. “I'm so, so sorry to you both. I opened my bakery hoping to help someone the way Daniel helped me, and instead it hurt you both.” The guilt was crushing. If he'd stayed at the hospital job he'd never have caused such a problem, but he just had to insist on doing his own thing. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

All he could do was stand there and cry. Fat tears landed on Charlotte's face and he felt bad, but he couldn't get himself to move. He just wanted to be there with her.

As he hugged her he noticed she began to feel a lot less solid. She was fading underneath him and he tried to grab her, tried to tighten his grip even if in that position it was near impossible to do. But it didn't help. Her long body started to become transparent until she was gone completely and Kotetsu fell forward. He barely managed to catch himself on his hands. 

“Charlotte?” he asked, and looked around before noticing – there, on his left! There was a form, there was...there was Barnaby. 

Kotetsu gaped and hurried and crawled towards him, noting he looked awfully still. When he got to him he stopped and stared. Barnaby was covered in blood. There were bite wounds in his chest but blood also pooled around his head and his neck. Kotetsu couldn't see the injuries, but he could picture the way Charlotte's mouth had shut on him and the way her teeth had come down. If there were bullet wounds, he couldn't see them.   
And next to Barnaby, was his doll, was his precious Charlotte. Her eyes looked different though. 

They were more alert, with much more life. The left eye held swirls of red and yellow, while the right was blue and yellow. They were still odd, but not as strange and upsetting as the eyes she had held just a few minutes before. 

She was staring up in the air. Kotetsu wondered what would become of her next, but he couldn't focus on that. He had to drag his gaze back to Barnaby's bloodied form. His heart clenched up. He'd seen the dead body of Tomoe, but it was something he could never get used to and he didn't understand anyone that could. He didn't know what to do. “Barnaby...” he reached out to touched him, but thought better of it. And then he got angry, and he sat up, turning his body so he could see Mami as she approached. “Look! This is YOUR fault!” he said, raging inside and knowing damn well it wasn't really her fault. He knew it was the teeth. He knew it was Barnaby's decision. 

And he knew it was because of him that Barnaby ended up making that decision, but he still wanted to blame someone else, if only for a few minutes. 

Mami paused, looking at him. Her face was blank, and that made Kotetsu even angrier until a hand stroked his head and he knew it was Madoka. “Hold on, Kotetsu. All is not lost. Not at all,” she said, and landed next to him. 

Should her feet touch the ground? “But...but...” He couldn't speak. 

“Mami.” Madoka nodded at the other girl. “Come forward and gather her.”

Mami nodded and offered a small smile as she walked by them both. She knelt down next to Barnaby, but her gaze was on Charlotte. It made Kotetsu feel even angrier, but Madoka took his hand and it calmed him considerably. Well, if she was a goddess, she probably had the power to downright drug him. He was glad she didn't. 

That was partially because he caught the look on Mami's face as she scooped up Charlotte. Her eyes lit up, her expression was soft, and yet it was a look of joy. She gazed fondly at Charlotte, which she sure hadn't done when she was a monster. 

Then she looked up at Kotetsu. “Thank you, Kotetsu.”

“Eh?” He was surprised. “What did I do?”

“You helped bring her back,” Mami said, walking back to them and cradling Charlotte. “She was lost for so long, and even when she was hurting and hating, she came to love you for some reason, and then we were able to find her.”

“But how-”

“There's a lot of hatred in this world, and ours too,” explained Madoka. “In this city, even with these heroes, seeking love was easier than anger and fear. It stood out more. We didn't exactly expect it, and at times it was confusing, especially when we found a second source.”

Mami nodded. “Barnaby's appearance also spiked terrible jealousy and ill feelings, but by then we knew. We had found her.”

“Her...found...” Kotetsu was confused, as he had been so many times that day already. 

“You see, 'Charlotte' is my companion, where I come from. When she was stolen and used to test theories over here, I had to find her. Other girls tried to help, but they caused more harm than good and Madoka forced back everyone she could.”

“Everyone she COULD?” Kotetsu repeated. 

Madoka nodded. “Yes, there is still one watching over us, but surely when we leave, she'll follow. Regardless, she followed me, and you will not encounter her. Just us. And we're grateful, Kotetsu. Charlotte the witch was ready to die, but in her state, your words and tears reached her. She came back. We need to return before that work is undone, this world is still so very unstable for her, but we have her thanks to your kindness toward her. Any other bakery and I would have feared for this city. But she landed in yours.”

Kotetsu was at a loss. He wasn't expecting any of what he was experiencing. He thought they would defeat the big bad and they would take her back, or something. He didn't know Mami would be close with her. He didn't know they were friends. She hadn't really shown it.

Perhaps she had become depressed and unsure as well. 

“I don't...I don't get it...” Kotetsu said weakly. “Who stole her?” Would they do it again?

“A creature that doesn't understand the emotions Charlotte felt,” Madoka answered. “I have found him, and I have sent him back.”

“Though I suppose we owe him a little. When one of our group stole her, the creature returned her to you. I don't know if he knew that you would be the answer,” Mami said thoughtfully. 

“Perhaps he did, and wanted to see how we handled it – regardless, Kotetsu, the way you want so badly to help others, to save others, to care for others even if you are slow to open up...you saved Charlotte,” Madoka said, and by then she held his face in both hands. “You are her hero.”

Such an intimate gesture was a little hard for him to be okay with, but the sense of calm that Madoka brought with her helped. “You're a god, aren't you?” he asked her. Had...had she really called him a hero?

“To you, I suppose,” she replied, and he decided that was a yes. 

He knew he should feel good for saving Charlotte, for being her hero, perhaps. But he wasn't Barnaby's hero. His heart weighed with a heavy sadness as he looked down. “I couldn't save Barnaby.” 

“Sssshhh.” Madoka floated up and kissed him on the cheek. It felt like a butterfly kiss, at least that was the only way he would ever be able to describe it. “Go to him,” she told him. “Go to him, and hold him.” 

Kotetsu looked at her in confusion, and then to Mami as well. Mami nodded and held Charlotte closer to her. We've got to go...goodbye, Kotetsu, and thank you.”

“I still...don't think I did that much...” he said weakly, as he stepped away from Madoka.

“You did. I'll never forget it, and maybe someday we'll meet again. Now listen to Madoka, and go to Barnaby.” With a smile, she did a little hop and lifted her legs – and then she was gone as a shower of those flowers replaced her form entirely. 

It was so sudden that Kotetsu yelped in surprise. “H-hey! I...didn't get to say bye to Charlotte...” he said, a great sense of loss filling him. 

“She knows.” Madoka gestured gently. “Please, go to him. I must leave, but before that I must help you.”

She had helped him, hadn't she? Or did she get him into the mess? He would never really know, but Barnaby's body on the floor was finally too much for him and he hurried to him, dropping next to him. The blood opened the waterworks again and he cried, gathering Barnaby into his arms.

He didn't care about getting blood on him. It covered his hands and arms immediately, but he still held Barnaby to his chest. He couldn't believe it, he finally had someone..and Barnaby had no reason to be involved and...

And it was all over. 

Kotetsu cried on his face and kissed it, wishing he could do something, anything! It was hard to believe Barnaby was...was...

Madoka giggled and Kotetsu looked at her. He could see her rising into the air and fading gradually. “I told you I would help you,” she said, and before he could ask how, she was gone. His surroundings grew blurry, and then began to fade as well and Kotetsu felt compelled to close his eyes as he pulled Barnaby's body more into his lap, his grip around him tight and never wanting to let go. 

With his eyes closed he could still feel Charlotte's world going away. He could smell it, he could hear it. He could hear the hum of his cooler, could smell the bread, could feel the normal floor beneath him. 

When he opened his eyes, he was in his bakery. His bakery was normal, like he had left it the day before, not a thing out of place. There were no large desserts, no monsters, no needles – and no bad feelings. There was darkness, but he realized with a shock, that was because it was nighttime outside. 

Then he heard a small groan, a movement in his arms, and looked down. Barnaby took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and looked right back.


	27. 27

“Is he alright?”

“Yes honey, he's fine, just tired.”

“What happened?”

“Oh...we just ran into some trouble today.”

“...What kind of trouble, Dad?”

“Sweetie if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. We took down a monster I guess you could say.”

“Dad...”

“She was a real witch, that one.”

Kaede sighed, threw her hands up in the air, and made her way to her bedroom. Kotetsu knew he'd be grilled again later and probably given a lot of crap about not telling the truth. Hey, what was he supposed to tell her? 

He'd figure out something, along for a reason for being so secretive about it. For the time being he had Barnaby seated on his couch, drinking tea and looking out of sorts. He'd revived back in the bakery, but it was like waking someone up from a very, very long nap, and waking up from even the shortest nap was always confusing beyond belief. 

Barnaby's wounds had closed, and no blood was left on him when Madoka returned them to the normal bakery. They both came out of it clean and whole. However, Barnaby had complained of aches and pains when he did speak, and Kotetsu had a feeling he still needed time to adjust. 

So of course he brought him home, pushed warm tea in his hands, put a blanket over his lap, and took care of him. He was not about to let Barnaby go home on his own that night. Madoka may have healed him but nothing could erase the image of Barnaby covered in blood from Kotetsu's mind. 

Barnaby was staring blankly at the television, which had been turned to a music channel playing instrumental tunes. He smiled and looked up when Kotetsu kissed his forehead. “Thank you,” Barnaby said ever so gently.

Kotetsu sat next to him. “Feeling any better?” 

“I don't know. I'm still trying to absorb everything. You said Madoka acted like a god and you fixed Charlotte with love? And then they all went away?”

“Uh, yea.”

“Kotetsu, I could write a better story in my sleep.”

“No you couldn't,” Kotetsu said, with a frown. Surely after all they had seen Barnaby didn't truly think he was lying...did he? He had to admit it sounded outrageous. 

Barnaby shook his head slowly with a smile. “Well, giant donuts sounds unbelievable, but I saw that with my eyes. So, I am inclined to believe you as far as what happened while I was...dead.” Then Barnaby's smile faded. “Was – was I really dead, Kotetsu?” he asked him, worry evident in his green eyes. 

“I'm not sure,” Kotetsu confessed. “I think so. You were covered in blood and not moving, but I didn't get so far as to test your pulse before I started cradling you and everything went to normal.”

“Cradling me.”

“Yes...” Kotetsu blushed. “Madoka said to hold you and um so I did.”

“I see.”

Kotetsu took a deep breath to ask something he probably didn't need to ask, but he couldn't help it. There had been no appropriate time since Barnaby woke up to ask it. “So uh, so...I know how we were in the book shop...and even in the labyrinth! But are we still...um...”

Barnaby turned his confused gaze on him. “Are we still...?” 

“Dating?” Kotetsu finally said, that word quieter than anything else. 

“Why do you feel the need to ask? Yes, of course, if you want to, I mean,” Barnaby said, his eyes not leaving Kotetsu's face, while Kotetsu found it hard to look at him. 

“I just wanted to be sure nothing had changed.”

“Well, one thing has changed.”

Kotetsu swallowed. “Yes?”

“I may be putting in a very real effort to bug you about becoming a hero. I saw you in there. You need some training, of course, but Kotetsu you could be an amazing hero!” Barnaby declared.

He was a little afraid of that. At the same time Kotetsu knew he wasn't good enough to ever do what someone like Barnaby could do. So he just shook his head. “You just keep thinking that, Barnaby.”

“I will.” Barnaby sighed and leaned over, his head resting on Kotetsu's shoulder. “But...not right now. I want to spend some time with you that isn't completely crazy.”

Kotetsu felt relieved to have the topic dropped for the time being. He had his own bit of recovering to do, already feeling sadness since Charlotte was gone.“ Yea...me too.” He carefully leaned his head against Barnaby's perfect soft hair, which had remained disturbingly beautiful throughout the whole ordeal. “What do you want to do?”

“Just sit. Maybe even lay down with you, if that's...if that's alright,” Barnaby said. 

Was that too big a step? Laying in the same bed together? It wouldn't lead to sex. Kotetsu was too old fashioned to allow that so early in a relationship, but what if Barnaby...ah, he was over-thinking it. And he would welcome some cuddling. “Sure,” he said finally.

“You hesitated.”

Kotetsu chuckled. “It's nothing, Barnaby. Just thinking about if it would be okay and I...it...I think it would be nice.”

Barnaby snorted. “Of course it would be. Don't worry so much, Kotetsu,” Barnaby said and it was easier said than done. 

However, Kotetsu knew once he laid down with Barnaby he would feel a comfort he hadn't felt in years. That feeling dulled the worry and Kotetsu found himself smiling.

\----------

A week later Barnaby walked into the bakery, his cheeks red from the cold and glasses foggy upon entering the warmth. He took them off and squinted around the bakery, even though he couldn't really see anything. As long as he could find the blurry thing that looked like Kotetsu, he'd be happy. 

He didn't see that blurry man anywhere though and he couldn't help feeling slightly agitated. Kotetsu told him to come over whenever he had a break from work or was done for the day, 'whichever came first' – as if THAT made sense. He made it clear it was no emergency but insisted Barnaby get there as soon as possible.

“Old man!” he called, using the nickname Kotetsu hated when he wanted to get his attention. He tried not to use it too much, and had even affectionately taken to calling Kotetsu 'Tiger'. When he did the first time, Kotetsu had stopped and looked at him, an unreadable look on his face, but the he kissed Barnaby and dragged him close. Barnaby took that as a sign of approval. 

“One minuuute!” Kotetsu called from the back and Barnaby walked up to the counter, tapping his foot impatiently as he put his glasses back on. Boy, Kotetsu was lucky he wasn't a customer!

Kotetsu emerged a couple of minutes later, holding a pile of clothing – bakery whites, it looked like. “Hello Barnaby!” he said with a lopsided smile. “I have something for you!”

Barnaby had a feeling he knew. They had discussed it before. And immediately he kind of wanted to fight it, even though he didn't hate the idea. In fact, he sort of loved it and he had made that sort of obvious, but he still wasn't sure he should do it while he was already spending so much time and resources tracking Ouroboros. 

But...being with Kotetsu, in any way, eased the pain he often felt and maybe it was okay to feel better instead of suffering pounding headaches and getting nowhere in his searches. Maybe, even if all his training and all the thoughts he forced himself to think told him otherwise. 

“Look!” Kotetsu was saying, and he was holding out the clothes. There was a pair of white pants, and a white prep shirt – but there was also a red apron, a red sash, and a red hair tie. On top of all of it was a little white nametag that said 'Barnaby of Tiger's Treats'.

It was a simple thing, and also something he would normally dislike. He didn't do nametags. He didn't like them and as a hero didn't need them. 

Seeing it there, being offered to him by Kotetsu, being invited into his life even further – it almost brought Barnaby to tears. He didn't know what to say. He wondered what Maverick would say. He wondered what it might disrupt and how practical it was. What would the public be whispering? 

As silly as he felt it was to make a big decision because of 'looove', the way Kotetsu made him feel won out. Hey, there wasn't anything bad about learning a new set of skills, either. Plus, it could be good for publicity, Barnaby the hero and baker. He didn't know the impacts of admitting he was romantically involved with the bakery owner, but he'd worry about it later.

He tried not to act too eager. “Okay. I'll do it.” With a overly drawn-out sigh and a shake of his head, he held out his hands, expecting Kotetsu to hand him the clothing. 

Instead, Kotetsu practically threw it all on the counter and dragged Barnaby into a tight hug.


End file.
